Merry Christmas!

I've reached 3.4% of my fundraising goal - help keep it coming!

Okay, now is the time when I begin fundraising in earnest for Bike & Build. I've already gotten a few donations from amazing people. My dear friend Saskia (who did the same B&B route last summer) gets the prize for being first, and most enthusiastic.

As I've mentioned before, between now and June, I have to raise $4,000 for the cause. Most of this money will go toward affordable housing initiatives, including Habitat for Humanity in Providence, with a small amount spent on program costs. This trip is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done, for a cause that I feel very strongly about, and I need your help. Your donation, in addition to helping to make this entire trip possible, will go directly toward putting a roof over someone's head. Lots of people giving just a little can make an enormous difference.

As an added incentive, if you donate, you can request a postcard from one of the states I'll be biking through (RI, CT, NY, PA, OH, IN, IL, IA, SD, NE, WY, ID, MT, or WA). I'll also be updating this blog as often as I can, so you can keep up with my progress. And if you're going to be near the route this summer, I'd love to meet up with you. That especially goes for Seattleites!

For more information, or to check out my profile, go to www.bikeandbuild.org - the easiest way to contribute is to do so online by clicking on "Donate" and scrolling down to my name. If that doesn't work, you can send a check to Bike and Build with my name in the memo section (instructions included on the "Donate" page).

Thank you in advance for your support - it really means a lot to me. Feel free to spread the word and let me know if you have any questions! I also hope to do some blog posts very soon about the affordable housing issue.

Next step - START TRAINING!

"His music never stops praying."

From Alex Ross's new (New Yorker-sanctioned) blog, a beautiful quote from contemporary Hungarian composer György Kurtág, upon being asked if he was a believer:

I do not know. I toy with the idea. Consciously, I am certainly an atheist, but I do not say it out loud, because if I look at Bach, I cannot be an atheist. Then I have to accept the way he believed. His music never stops praying. And how can I get closer if I look at him from the outside? I do not believe in the Gospels in a literal fashion, but a Bach fugue has the Crucifixion in it—as the nails are being driven in. In music, I am always looking for the hammering of the nails…. That is a dual vision. My brain rejects it all. But my brain isn’t worth much.

...this is going to be the greatest summer of all time. OF ALL TIME.

I may not know what I'm doing next year, but I do know what I'll be doing for the three months immediately following graduation: riding my bike from Providence to Seattle.

For those of you who haven't heard of Bike & Build, it's a phenomenal organization that raises awareness and money for affordable housing projects by organizing cross-country bike trips. On my particular trip, we will start off building at a Habitat for Humanity site in Providence, before heading west for the next two months. Averaging about 75 miles per day, we will also stop at 7 more build sites on our way to Seattle. At each host location, we will give a presentation about the affordable housing crisis, to raise local awareness for this important issue. When more than 5.1 million Americans live in "worst-case" housing conditions, and more than 13 million Americans are forced to pay over 50% of their income on housing, this needs to be a pressing national issue.

Personally, I have been invested in this issue since the beginning of high school. I was a part of a very active youth group that, on the week-long service trips we took each year, would inevitably be told by the organization with which we were working that we were so efficient at building that they had to scramble to keep up. During my first trip, I helped to rehabilitate houses in Appalachia. I had never seen the effects of economic inequality as dramatically as I did in this Virginia coal-mining town, and the experience stuck with me. I loved the hands-on work of building, the feeling that we were tangibly making a difference in the lives of others, with a product we could see by the end of the week.

If I know you personally, you'll definitely be hearing more from me about this, since I have to raise $4,000 for the cause. But if anyone out there is feeling generous, please don't hesitate to visit my profile on B&B's website and donate!

Throughout the trip I'll be updating this blog as regularly as I can. If you'd like a postcard (from any of these states), give me a donation and then email me your address and which state you'd like.

And like I said - don't worry; you'll be hearing about this again. My level of excitement about this summer is essentially off the chart. Biking + Building = a surefire recipe for success.

Crisis Pregnancy Centers

(x-posted to Women@Brown)



One of the things I was working on at NARAL (other than updating pretty much all of their online content) was researching Crisis Pregnancy Centers. During this time, RH Reality Check came out with this great video about the deceptions spread by CPCs.

From NARAL Pro-Choice California's website (i.e. me):

Crisis Pregnancy Centers, also known as CPCs, are fake clinics and counseling centers that often use deception, inaccurate information and intimidation to prevent potentially pregnant women from accessing abortion and/or birth control services. Commonly, their goal is to impose their anti-choice agenda on women especially in so-called “at risk” communities (low income, minority, non-English speaking, etc). Many of these centers also provide sex education services and therefore have received significant funding both at the state and federal levels from abstinence-only education programs. In trying to make an important and constitutionally protected choice, women should have medically accurate information and counseling that is free of political or religious agenda.

It should be a given that women are provided with complete and accurate information before making choices about their bodies and their reproductive health. And yet.

San Francizzle

I am terribly sorry to have abandoned my blog for so long! It's more than a bit ridiculous. There is much to talk about. But for now, I know you've all been waiting for stories from San Francisco...well, I don't want to spend too much time here, so here are a few photos from an amazing summer.

A gayble cable car (but not a real one, shh) decked out for the pride parade.

The lovely Pacific coast.

Posing with my pal Harvey Milk.

Long story short: I had the opportunity to go to an Oscar de la Renta fashion show at Lake Tahoe with the family I was staying with. It was awesome. More importantly, I wore an awesome hat.

Gorgeous Asilomar State Beach, near Monterey.

A sampling of NARAL interns on my last day at the office! (Side note: if you click through that link, you will see how amazingly fantastic the website looks, courtesy of yours truly.)

Alcatraz from the ferry.

Downtown from a distance. And palm trees, which I never did get used to seeing.

Self-explanatory. Unless it's not.

The famous Castro Theatre.

My brother came to visit during my last weekend in San Francisco - definitely one of the highlights of the summer.

The Little Hater

It has been way too long since I last posted. The main reason: my computer pretty much stopped working and had to be rebuilt. No big deal - everything was backed up. But it was a hassle, and meant I didn't always have access to a computer, and most importantly, didn't have access to all the lovely pictures of San Francisco I wanted to post. I've also been meaning to do a post on some of the stuff I'm researching at NARAL, but we'll save that for very soon, I promise.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned that I love Jay Smooth, but I do. He's incredibly smart (and obviously feminist, anti-racist, and anti-homophobic) and provides great critiques of pop culture, but also seems like a friendly and compassionate guy with whom I'd feel comfortable striking up a conversation. In any case, this video here is a perfect description of what it feels like to be a blogger, a writer, a musician, or anyone who puts out a creative product for others to see. Personally, I feel like that "little hater" is always in the back of my mind. When he said the part about procrastination, I instantly gave him snaps (without considering the fact that no one could see/hear me).




The little hater is pretty much always there, telling me that my work just isn't worthy of being shown to anyone. Sometimes I can acknowledge that what I've done is good - in the case of my writing, it's not till after after I get positive feedback; in the case of music, I usually know when something special has happened (see also: most Saxtet performances). I haven't yet figured out a way to beat procrastination and self-doubt (which I think are inherently related), other than putting things off because I "work better under pressure," which means I either don't get stuff done or I don't sleep. Making detailed schedules helps with the procrastination, but not so much the self-doubt. Any sound advice out there?

In any case, go check out more of Jay's stuff while you're waiting with bated breath for me to post again.

Happy Fourth of July!

(Via Feministe)

Greetings from San Francisco!

The view from my window.

It's been a while since I last updated...but I am currently writing from the city on the hill! I just arrived on Monday and I'm here until the end of August, living with a friend's family in the Sunset District (the trees on the left of the picture mark the edge of Golden Gate Park, which is truly lovely).

The real purpose of my being here, however, is interning at NARAL Pro-Choice California. Unfortunately I won't be able to give a whole lot of details about the experience, as we have to be really careful about confidentiality (because there are a lot of anti-choice crazies out there), but suffice it to say that my first day was awesome and I'm excited to be working there. The people are all incredibly friendly and sweet, and I'm going to get a chance to work on a few different projects, which will be great for figuring out what kinds of areas I enjoy (media, communications, outreach, etc.).

As for San Francisco, I'm already a big fan. We've had great weather so far, though I'm told not to expect this in general - certainly, there has been plenty of fog in the mornings and evenings, but the days have been quite sunny and nice. Proof of the mild climate: there is a lemon tree in the backyard!

Highlight of my wandering around the Financial District (which I have dubbed "Baby Manhattan") alone yesterday: riding a cable car! Definitely an experience that is deserving of the hype.

Oh, and Pride is this weekend! Now I just need to find a friend to go to the parade with me...

Belated Commencement Goodness

Ellen DeGeneres gave an awesome commencement speech at Tulane. Check it out! It's worth watching to the end. Congratulations to all of the high school and college graduates!

TGIF (Tonsillectomy Edition)

My lovely suitemates from the past semester - I miss them already! From left: me, Karynn, Katie, Masumi, and Caitlin.

1. All I've been doing since my tonsillectomy has been resting at home.
2. My favorite thing for dinner lately has been black raspberry gelato...mmm.
3. One of many things that annoys me about dogs relative to cats is their bark! bark! bark!
4. A nice long walk would be nice if I had the energy.
5. Knowing that friends wanted to pay me a visit would be some good news.
6. When all is said and done, this recovery thing hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleeping, tomorrow my plans include watching movies and Sunday, I want to watch movies!


Awesome movies I've seen this week (the first two were the only ones I hadn't seen before), any of which are highly recommended for a sick day:
Casablanca
Milk
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Animal House
Good Will Hunting
Mr. Holland's Opus
plus Season 1 of Arrested Development

Dang, I really have nothing to talk about. My life consists of hydrocodone, movies, and frozen beverages.

Too tired for anything of substance. Later, y'all.

Klezmer Sax?

For our last concert of the year, the Wind Symphony invited awesome klezmer clarinetist Margot Leverett to join us as a guest soloist. I got to play a duet with her during the Doina section of the piece that she and Matt arranged, called Klezmer Fantazi for Band. The two videos together make up the whole piece, but if you just want to hear me, I play at the very beginning of the first video. I was incredibly nervous, as I'd never played klezmer and hardly ever improvise, but it went really well. If you have time, listen to the whole thing - Margot is incredible. She's also an incredibly sweet person and I'm so glad to have gotten a chance to work with her.

a poem about grapefruit

Yargh, sorry I've been a terrible blogger. Finals! Commencement week! So much has gotten in the way. In any case, I'm home, eagerly(?) awaiting Monday, when I will be getting my tonsils out. Send me healing vibes! I'll be drugged up and sore for at least a week, maybe two.

For now, I'd like to offer up a poem, written by my talented friend Leora Fox.

ways to eat a grapefruit

for devon, jon, nat, and abe

1. screaming romantically: two
fingers, frantic, scooping chunks
of pink flesh along with inner,
outer peel.

2. in series of semiquavers, in
perpendicular planes, with
thirds on the brain, on
unsteady wooden chairs.

3. with holes bored to siphon
juice, periodic compression and
release, two-palmed, downward;
fitfully at best.

4. sluiced truthfully
through the middle in
imperfect halves, with
serrated spoon.

Street Sights

Check out this article by the amazing Adrienne on Street Sights, a monthly publication about issues in the homeless community of Providence. The cool thing about this paper is that the vast majority of contributers are homeless themselves - giving them a place to let their voices be heard. It also serves as a forum for discussion and a way for the community to organize. I find it really inspiring that a publication like this can exist - it seems like such a productive way to bring together and support a community that is often alienated, to say the least.

Speaking of inspiration, thanks to everyone who voted for my friend's project - ImMEDIAte Justice won the $10,000 grant!! I'm so proud of them and excited for the amazing work they're going to be able to do.

Scientific study finds that promiscuity is culturally-based. Feminists say, "No kidding."

(x-posted at Women@Brown)

Jezebel had a good post the other day about a new study showing that promiscuity may be more culturally influenced than biologically/evolutionarily. Well, yeah, no kidding. But evolutionary biologists have long held that, based mainly on studies of fruit flies, males are more promiscuous than females. Spreading one's genes is an evolutionary advantage, but producing eggs is more of an investment than insemination, so females tend to have fewer mating partners while males tend to have more. While these findings are undoubtedly important, the subsequent application to human behavior has been, well, problematic. Claiming cultural norms/stereotypes as "natural" tends to lead into dangerous territory, reinforcing expectations of men's and women's roles in society.

However, a new study that actually takes a look at human behavior has shown that "Evidence for sex differences in variation in reproductive success alone does not allow us to make generalizations about sex roles, as numerous variables will influence [previous findings] for men and women." But not only is the notion of promiscuous men and choosy women culturally based, it may also be wrong. While men had more children by different partners than women did overall, number of sexual partners is extremely difficult to measure because people lie about it. The social expectation for men to sleep around and women to want committed relationships tends to make men exaggerate upwards and women exaggerate downwards when surveyed about the number of sexual partners they'd had.

This study is encouraging, because it shows an awareness by the scientific community that humans are embedded in culture - a fact that tends to be ignored in evolutionary biology. On the other hand, Elizabeth Wilson (who gave a talk at the differences colloquium a few weeks ago) got me thinking about the fact that feminism tends to ignore biology, too. To paraphrase Wilson, although nothing can be explained in purely biological terms - especially biology - feminism does need to be more engaged with biology. When we distance ourselves from the scientific community, we end up shooting ourselves in the foot when we could be focused on working through similar issues. And the last thing we want is to show how completely out-of-touch we are by suggesting that fruit fly research is unimportant.

How to engage biology is, of course, the difficult question. But I get discouraged when I end up in arguments with my biology-focused friends about things like the influence of evolution and/or culture on sex and gender, because it gets in the way of our shared commitment to social justice. I make a habit of calling out science out for its assumed objectivity - nothing is purely objective; we don't exist in a vacuum - but the last thing I want to do is alienate it because it isn't self-aware enough. It would be more productive to help it become more self-aware, and then work in conversation with it.

Saxytimes

Here's a video of the Smokin' Reed Saxtet at the Everyman Bistro last Sunday. The piece shown here is "Tifa's Theme" from Final Fantasy, arranged by our own Dr. Allegretti (playing soprano).



We've also put up our spring recordings here. Ch-ch-check it out.

Also, a heads up: to anyone reading from Boston, we're most likely going to have a performance with the Saxyderms on the Common next Saturday around noon (weather permitting). Just a heads up; details will follow.

In other news, I won a Wii from AEPi's charity raffle! I've never won anything big like that before. Super-exciting. Too bad I don't currently have a TV - but I'm sure my housemates will appreciate it next year.

TGIF - and an important plug!

This picture, taken last week, is already outdated...baby Charlotte is growing by the day!

1. Join me in praising God for beautiful weather on Spring Weekend.
2. Put a little Bach in your day!
3. Happiness is a handmade card slipped under my door when I was having a rough morning. Also, a warm gun (bang bang shoot shoot).
4. Trying to figure out the summer internship/job/money situation has got me feeling anxious and confused.
5. I'm waiting for the day when I finally get my tonsils out. Which will be in about a month, if you're wondering.
6. Taking a break for tea and conversation with my suitemates is hard to resist.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing Nas, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, and Deer Tick, tomorrow my plans include general Spring Weekend madness and Sunday, I want to play a gig at the Everyman Bistro with the Saxtet!





And now for the plug...

Please please please go here and vote for my amazing suitemate, Karynn, and her team - they are finalists to win a $10,000 grant! Their project, called ImMEDIAte Justice, sounds amazing - "Empowering young women from South Central L.A. to make innovative films about reproductive justice." You can read more about it on the site where you vote.

Not only do I love this project because I love Karynn and her passion for social justice through media, but I'm also a big fan of peer education, especially sex education, where what's available in the schools might be lacking or non-existant. This isn't just someone coming in from the outside to educate teens - this is giving young women the tools to create their own media, with both the immediate goal of providing useful sex education to their peers and the longterm goal of providing them with a way to enact change in other areas that are important to them.

Also, check out this awesome video they made to promote the project. (Not sure if it's available to everyone or just select Facebookers, but hopefully you can view it.)

Another Quick Link

Here's another editorial written by my dear friend Adrienne! While it specifically pertains to the Asheville, North Carolina region, the topic of supporting your local economy is relevant to us all.

Supporting tailgate markets makes more sense than ever now

Quick Link: The Double Standard Revealed

(x-posted to Women@Brown)

Via The Washington Post:

When a vaccine designed to protect girls against a sexually transmitted virus arrived three years ago, the debate centered on one question: Would the shots make young girls more likely to have sex?

Now the vaccine's maker is trying to get approval to sell the vaccine for boys, and the debate is focusing on something else entirely: Is it worth the money, and is it safe and effective enough?

Read the full article here.

March Madness - what about the women?

(x-posted to Women@Brown)

March Madness is upon us. The drama, the rivalries, the brackets, the sheer passion of college basketball (which, if you ask me, is much more fun to watch than pro basketball for this very reason). And yet, at risk of pointing out the obvious, the brackets we fill out with such enthusiasm on ESPN.com are for men's basketball. The majority of the publicized and televised games? Men's basketball.

The other night I went home for a UConn women's game - though the team is undefeated and has a hugely loyal fan base, they haven't been selling out, which I'll chalk up to the economy. In any case, I was riveted. I'm no sports expert, but these women were spectacular to watch - the way they interacted both on and off the court, the intensity of play, their speed and ball-handling skills - beautiful. Equally impressively, everyone on the team performs well academically - sophomore Maya Moore (pictured), arguably the best player in the league, boasts a 3.74 GPA. Based on the team camaraderie - one player is designated to high-five everyone on the bench whenever someone scores - they seem like people I'd like to hang out with in my spare time. Suffice it to say: I'm in love with the UConn women.

So after the game, with all that adrenaline going through me, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that the NCAA basketball tournament is essentially the only time when women's sports are given a significant amount of attention in the mainstream media - and even then, there isn't nearly the same degree of excitement about them as there is about the men's tournament. What's up with that? I'm sick of hearing comments like, "Well, men's basketball is just better and more exciting than women's." That seems like a cop-out to me. For one thing, "better" is purely subjective. If women's games and brackets were hyped up as much as the men's, would we find them equally exciting? Probably. Women's basketball definitely brings the passion and the drama - the UConn/Tennessee rivalry is one of the fiercest rivalries in sports. And even as a UConn fan, I can easily admit that Tennessee coach Pat Summitt's 1,000 victories is an unparalleled feat - by any coach, male or female. The Lady Vols' athletic director was quoted as saying, "I can’t imagine anyone doing what she has done ever again." Programs like these, with a relatively long history and a strong alumni network, draw crowds. This is the same reason why men's tournament games are played on a neutral court, while women's games are played at stadiums (like UConn's) where there will surely be a wide enough local fan base to sell tickets.

And then there's another problem: where do they go from here? The WNBA has had a decent amount of success compared to other professional women's sports. But with the Houston Comets - "the most important franchise in the history of women's professional sports" - having folded this winter, one wonders about the future of the league's popularity and subsequent success. Do players like Candace Parker and Maya Moore (who can totally dunk, by the way) get frustrated by the fact that their sport's popularity peaks in college?

Bringing it back to women's sports at Brown...Speaking personally, I hear a lot about how undeniably awesome the women's crew and rugby teams are - but at Brown, as at most schools, nothing in women's sports is even comparable to the amount of money and hype spent on men's football. I know that, "objectively" speaking, this all has to do with money. It's a tried-and-true fact that men's games sell tickets. Fine, I understand that. But is there anything we can do about it? Other than resorting to, say, something like this? Most relevantly, do we have a feminist obligation to support women's athletics?

TGIF

This picture represents...maybe half of the tea supply in my suite. We live by the stuff.

Friday Fill-Ins has a first-sentence-of-books theme this week. The first one is the only real answer I know; the rest are made up.

1. "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit!!!!"

2. "My tonsils are huge but that ain't no matter."

3. "After dark the rain began to fall again, as per usual in Providence."

4. "Pirates, looking suspiciously Johnny Depp-esque, streamed out from the hold of the Spanish galleon."

5. "There was a hand in the darkness, and suddenly my chicken parm was gone."

6. "Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, so always wear a helmet when riding a bike."

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleeping, tomorrow my plans include sleeping and Sunday, I want to sleep!

If you haven't before, check out The Low Anthem, an interesting band from good ol' Providence. Rolling Stone calls them "a trio of neo-hippie rockers...the Low Anthem craft homemade, warm-hearted Americana populated by train workers and road trippers on their second album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin." I particularly love their gorgeous, often chill-inducing, harmonies. They're probably the biggest band to come out of Prov in recent times - while they've been popular around here for a while, they seem to have had a sudden rush of fame and have been playing at some of the biggest music festivals in the country. The fun part - not only did they all go to Brown at some point, but I played with Jocie (the trio's only female member, and youngest) in the pit for "Merrily We Roll Along" freshman year! She's such a nice person - I really enjoyed getting to know her - and I'm thrilled that she's making it big, doing what she loves. Brown music concentrators, you too can go far.

(x-posted to Women@Brown)

Via Feministing:

Deborah Siegel, over at Girl w/Pen, is trying to start a little infectious blog quiz. If you've got one, paste these questions and add one of your own, then post it up at your blog so we can spread the knowledge.

1. In 2009, women make up what percent of the U.S. Senate?
A. 3%
B. 17%
C. 33%
D. 50%

2. How many CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are female?
A. 15
B. 28
C. 59
D. 84

3. Who was the first First Lady to create her own media presence (i.e. hold regular press conferences, write a daily newspaper column and a monthly magazine column, and host a weekly radio show)?
A. Eleanor Roosevelt
B. Jacqueline Kennedy
C. Pat Nixon
D. Hillary Clinton

4. The Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced to Congress in:
A. 1923
B. 1942
C. 1969
D. 1971

5. Who was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature?
A. Phyllis Wheatley
B. Alice Walker
C. Toni Morrison
D. Maya Angelou

6. What percentage of union members are women today?
A. 10%
B. 25%
C. 35%
D. 45%

7. What year did the Griswold v. Connecticut decision guarantee married women the right to birth control?
A. 1960
B. 1965
C. 1969
D. 1950

8. What was the first coeducational college in the United States?
A. Oberlin Collegiate Institute
B. Andover Newton College
C. Radcliffe College
D. College of William and Mary

Scroll down for answers...













ANSWERS: 1:B, 2:A, 3:A, 4:A, 5:C, 6:D, 7:B 8:A

TGIF

Happy (belated) St. Joseph's Day! Hope everyone ate lots of delicious zeppole (see above). I know I did. In related news, if you are ever in need of an Italian bakery in Providence, Scialo Bros (on Federal Hill, of course) is pretty fantastic. Nice people, great pastries, frequented by locals.

1. Why do we have to push ourselves so hard, constantly on the move?

2. Tweeting and checking Google Reader are now habits.

3. I have not yet secured a summer internship and it's freaking me out.

4. I had never heard the phrase "Moustache March" and it is not a tradition in which I think many people should participate.
5. I'm staying up late when I shouldn't, the way I always do.

6. How was I to know that I'd get so attached to my spider plants, Aragog and baby Charlotte?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleeping?, tomorrow my plans include heading up to Boston to visit my brother, and Sunday, I want to see Bill Nye the Science Guy give a lecture at Northeastern!

This music video is great. I feel like these guys are just having a ton of fun. And I can't pretend I don't appreciate the night/knight pun in their name, given my Ellington roots.

This song's for the people who count.

The Saturday Knights - "Count It Off" from Lincoln Leopard Films on Vimeo.

Two links and a rant.

(x-posted to Women@Brown)

Here are two great articles debunking some of the myths and accusations being hurled around in the wake of the Chris Brown/Rihanna incident (the first gives a brief summary, if you haven't heard about this awful story).

Five Mistakes We Make When We Talk About Rihanna (Newsweek)

What It Doesn't Mean (Yes Means Yes Blog)

I'm going to come right out and say that it infuriates and upsets me when I hear ignorant comments and jokes about domestic violence - on this very campus. We're supposed to be this bastion of social justice, and yet the day after the story came out in the news I actually heard a friend say, "Chris Brown is my hero because he smacked up Rihanna." I wish I could walk around and hear people talking about about how incidents like this are indications of a global social illness that is tied up in questions of gender, race, and power - not petty gossip and jokes that only perpetuate the problem.

New blog alert! And the Brown Band does the Time Warp (again).

Okay, I'm changing my font size to the default. I'm sick of making it smaller every time, even though I prefer smaller font. This is more bad-eyesight-friendly, I guess.

Anywho, the point: If for some reason you've clicked on my profile lately, you'll notice that there are not one, but two blogs listed there. Gasp! That's because I'm going to be contributing to a brand-spanking-new blog called Women@Brown.

From the first post:

We envision this blog becoming a community of Brown students discussing political issues, campus events, pop culture, and anything and everything relating to women or women issues. We hope to spark discussions, help people stay informed, and even be a starting point for campus activism.

There have only been a few posts so far (like I said, it's brand new) but as they get more contributors (and as we start to, y'know, contribute), it should get some interesting discussions going. Go check it out!

Also, if you're like me and love old photographs, take a look at this Flickr album from Rosie Perera '85. Vintage Brown Band!

The Gross National Parade - Washington, D.C. (1984)

An early incarnation of Bruno. (1984)

I like the fuzzy ears. (1983)

The band bus! Awesome. (1984)

A young Matt (our faculty advisor, right) and the lookalike student conductor. (1984)

Fun Fact: This year will be the 40th anniversary of the band on skates! (1984)

Man, I wish I got to wear a white suit... (1983)

TGIF

This is how I feel about all the work, practicing, and internship applications I have to get done by the coming week.

1. Give me a backrub and I'll be your friend for life.
2. Whenever I post something opinionated online, I get nervous about it. It's a terrible habit and I really should have more confidence in my beliefs and ideas.
3. I wish I were better at staying in touch with my friends who are abroad, and with others whom I have not seen in a long time.
4. Asparagus cooked in olive oil and garlic salt by Masumi was the last thing I ate that was utterly delicious.
5. To live in this world is a blessing, but that doesn't mean it doesn't need fixing.
6. Other than this one, Baird's abroad-in-Copenhagen blog is the last blog I commented on.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the winter trip with the band - and hanging out with Princeton bandies one last time, tomorrow my plans include more winter trip - and skating in Rockefeller Center and Sunday, I want to perform Albright's Chichester Mass with the choir!

Bleugh.

Kerry Washington had a great response to the whole Chris Brown-assaulting-Rihanna situation:

"If we talk about violence against women, my hope is we don’t talk about it as petty gossip but as a social illness that must end. So if that’s what’s going on, then we need to all be aware this is a problem that goes from the Congo to Hollywood and everywhere in between." (from People)

I guess I'm having a "depressed about the crazy amounts of misogyny that exist in our society" day. Here's an incredibly moving video about the realities of pornography and the sex trade. Rap can be such a powerful medium; it's too bad that all we hear on the radio is, well, crappy and misogynistic.




And because we need something a bit more uplifting after that, this video made me cry tears of joy rather than tears of hating the world. Heartbreaking, still, but beautiful. A late Valentine's Day treat?


"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

All you need is ____.

No, but seriously, I hope you all have a blessed, love-filled day! Regardless of the sappy commercialism of the holiday, I have no problem with having an excuse (not that we should need one) to tell our loved ones why they're so important to us. And maybe even show some extra love to those who might not be feeling much of it today.

Additionally, Feministing and The Kitchen Table have some action suggestions for Valentine's Day. One incredibly easy one (which requires no monetary donation) is to sign this petition for CVS to unlock their condoms. Almost half of CVS stores keep their condoms in a locked case, meaning that to get the condoms out you have to press a buzzer and wait for assistance from a pharmacist - if they come at all. And according to the petition, these cases are found disproportionally in minority areas (which, I suppose, would be why I've never seen one on the East Side of Providence). Awesome, CVS. Because people don't already have enough trouble getting education about and access to safer-sex practices.

TGIF

1. It seems like there's no hope for humanity when people I thought I respected are able to speak words of ignorance and hate.
2. Wash your hands when you're done, please?
3. If I thought you knew me I'd expect you to know that the Brown Band is my number one priority!
4. The mess you left when you went away (thanks, Alanis) is what I think of most when I think of you.
5. To me, Valentine's Day means sending silly e-cards...and telling loved ones why I love them so much.
6. God - often through the guise of my amazing friends - gives me strength.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going out for Julia's belated 21st birthday, tomorrow my plans include a visit from my brother, a.k.a. my platonic Valentine, and Sunday, I want to go see Nat's band (the Macrotones) at Johnny D's in Somerville!

Hey, at least I posted more than once this week...sigh.

Andrea Gibson

This woman is AMAZING. I'd only seen a couple of her videos on YouTube prior to seeing her tonight at the Underground, and I was completely blown away seeing her live. Incredible poetry, raw delivery, really powerful stuff - I was riveted and moved. Here are the two pieces that got me extra choked-up - the first is an argument for gay marriage and the second one is a particularly powerful one about soldiers returning from the Iraq war:






And here is the one that finally made me cry - about being positive and affirming in difficult times:



Okay, just one more - this one is adorable and hilarious, about how pre-schoolers don't give a hoot about gender identity:



If you have the chance to see her, do so immediately. She's also really sweet and personable, and she chatted at length with everyone who stuck around to say hello or have her sign her book of poems (like I did). Also, I gave her a stick of gum, for which she was very grateful. I felt like the coolest person on earth.

TGIF

(With apologies to Jezebel.)

Okay, I'm taking a quick break from the New Mexico postings to update on my (current) life. But first, I'd like to introduce a new feature...not only did Lyndsay and Mrs. Mills get me inspired to start blogging (at which I've been doing a terrible job keeping up), but they also got me intrigued by Friday Fill-Ins. So here goes, new feature! This will at least get me to blog once a week, before my weekend starts...

1. Please don't tell me I'm a bad person for being too squeamish to give blood.
2. Can you believe how lovely and peaceful campus is early in the morning?
3. The color orange makes me want to puke!
4. I have a craving for sleep.
5. If my life had a pause button, I'd pause it often, to get caught up on all of my reading. Argh.
6. Eyes are the sleepiest part of me right now.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to bed early, tomorrow my plans include Club Gallery and Sunday, I want to go to yoga and then get some work done!

General updates/impressions of the classes I am taking...

Intro. to Gender & Sexuality Studies: Fitting, because it's sort of my concentration. Hah. I love this class, partly because after fulfilling nearly all of the concentration requirements I'm pretty familiar with the concepts we're covering by now, so it's not going to be difficult. And yet - I feel like I'm still learning new things, or at least gaining new insight on old things. Also Denise Davis is awesome and always has hilarious stories about her daughter. As a good friend and classmate pointed out, professors of gender theory always have the most interesting child-rearing practices. As a side note: between this class and the next class I'll discuss, I am reading three volumes of Foucault. The same week as Butler was assigned, too. I'm sorry, but I'm in agreement with Professor Davis - Butler is brilliant, but she needs a good editor.

Religion & Gender in the Ancient Mediterranean: A once-a-week, evening seminar - my only small class this semester, which is a switch from the usual and actually quite a relief. Again, the professor is awesome - she definitely knows her stuff and intimidated me at first, but now that I've gotten to chat with her I've realized that she's a very nice, interesting and interested person. The subject matter is fascinating, because although the gender stuff is old hat, I've never taken a class that focused on the ancient world, and I feel really...academic. In a good way. The other day we looked at the writings of Artimedoros, who was a dream interpreter - the really interesting part is that while he had all of these ideas about the types of predictions you could make through dreams, in doing so he also left us with valuable information about the daily lives of the ancient Greeks, particularly their ideas about gender and sexuality systems. Cool stuff. Also, I was incredibly proud of myself the other day, because I not only spoke up in class (I'm terrible at that - I get intimidated much too easily) but I even argued my point and made a critique of Foucault with which Professor Kraemer totally agreed. Ten points!!

The U.S. Metropolis: An Urban Studies class I decided to take on a whim (and a recommendation from a friend) - and I think I'm going to end up really liking it. Professor Zipp (isn't that a great name?) is a good lecturer, and the TA also gets a mention for being quite adept at facilitating section. The class basically deals with the rise of the American city (and, of course, the suburb) from the postwar era up to today. So far we've had a lot of introductory stuff leading up to this time period - the great black migrations, the Chicago and New York World's Fairs - but I think it's going to be fascinating to trace the history of some of the major social problems that plague our cities. Also there are several films assigned for the class (I'm always tempted to call them "movies", but in college, they're "films"), which always seems to bode well. We already had to watch a funny (in the way that old movies from the 30s are funny) black-and-white propaganda-ish film about the problems with cities, as well as A Raisin in the Sun, which is one of my favorite plays of all time.

The Foundation of Living Systems (a.k.a. Bio 20): Yes, I've gone back on my word - I'm taking a science class after all. But I love it so far - quite honestly, the science nerd inside me (which essentially died during AP chem and physics) is slowly reawakening. It goes without saying that Ken Miller is an awesome and hilarious lecturer.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Kenneth Miller

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Funny Political News

Christian Bale Parody
Joke of the Day

(June 2008)

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Kenneth Miller

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Funny Political News

Christian Bale Parody
Joke of the Day

(January 2006)

In all seriousness, though, I'm 100% on board with everything he says about evolution - particularly because, as a Catholic, he focuses a lot on the fact that evolution and religion are not mutually exclusive. Thank you, Ken Miller, for practicing good science and good theology.

The biggest problem with these classes is that there is a heck of a lot of reading - but that's not really anything new. Otherwise, I'm enjoying being the head conductor of the world's only ice skating band, singing in an incredibly talented church choir with fantastic people from the Providence community, working too many hours at Orwig Music Library (I keep adding shifts - can't keep away!), and living with my amazing suitemates - who happen to be excellent cooks in addition to being spectacular people.

New Mexico, Part I: The Land of Enchantment

Okay. I'm finally doing this. New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment! (Seriously, is that not the greatest state nickname?) We flew into Albuquerque on Sunday the 11th and decided to walk around. Side note: the flight in was one of the more beautiful ones I've taken. New Mexico was exactly how I had pictured it - soaring over the Rockies in Colorado, then suddenly everything was craggy, then flat, and all brown, brown, brown.

Anyway, we walked around Old Town for a while. This is San Felipe de Neri, the oldest church in Albuquerque (1706).

Obviously we had to go to the chocolate shop. Also the sign (like everything in NM that isn't beige) was turquoise.

I washed down my delicious chocolate with some delicious...chocolate soda.


Dinner that night was yummy (and spicy!) huevos rancheros, as well as a free cup of coffee given to me by the very odd cashier at the restaurant. I think he was lonely, or maybe bored. While we ate, we (Habitat-ers) got to know each other a bit better - and I could already tell that I was going to love the energy of the group. They're all friendly, very genuine people.

Somewhere along the way, these pictures switch to Santa Fe. I'm not sure where to draw the line. In any case, one of our fellow travelers was actually from Santa Fe - and since we were all so worn out from getting in at different times, she graciously let us all crash at her house on Sunday night. It couldn't have worked out better! Then on Monday we spent the morning exploring the capital city.

Seriously, everything looked like this - beige, fake adobe, rectangular. I felt as though I were on the set of a movie. Can you imagine seeing a building like this in New England?

A line of people, mostly (if not all) Native American, out selling their wares - beautiful handmade jewelry.

A fajita cart!

Inside the church of St. Francis (the outside was being worked on, unfortunately).

The chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe - the little doll in the middle is taken down and paraded around during an annual festival.

We then walked down a road that was solely populated by art galleries. Apparently the northern NM area has the third largest art scene in the world, after Paris and New York! Following this we drove a little ways to Tesuque, where we encountered a sculpture garden and glass-blowing place (workshop? studio?).

If you liked it then you should've put a ring on it.

The whole group! Minus Sean, who was the only guy (bless him) and didn't like to be in photos.

Glass-blowing is probably the form of (visual) art that leaves me most in awe. Even though I can see how they do it, I'm still thinking...how'd they do that?!

Finally we piled in the cars and drove up to Taos, on a long highway under a big sky. Pictures taken from a car window really can't capture the beauty or the scope, or the joyous atmosphere of that car ride. We were all just...giddy, overwhelmed by the majesty of it all. The landscape was just so different from anywhere else I'd ever been - the desert, the flatness, the scrubby trees, the canyons, and then the towering mountains in the distance. Nothing short of breathaking.

We arrived that afternoon in Questa, population approx. 2,000. It had one main road and was about an hour drive to Taos, the nearest city. This is the Baptist church in which we stayed.

This is the view from the front of the church. I know that three pictures of the same view is a bit excessive, but I couldn't decide on just one angle - by the end of the week, I felt so familiar with those mountains. Now, looking at the pictures, I feel that I would recognize them anytime, anywhere.

Shopping that night was pretty hilarious. Coordinating what food to buy for the week was...well, inefficient and borderline chaotic with ten people. Then we couldn't find milk anywhere in Questa. Anywhere! All was well that ended well, of course.

Coming up next: the building begins!