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.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
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.
Friday, February 13, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, February 6, 2009
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.
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.
(June 2008)
(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.
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.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
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!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
M.I.A. no longer (I neither fly like paper nor get high like planes)
Argh. I apologize (mostly to myself) for not posting in such a long time. Stories/pictures from New Mexico are forthcoming, I promise - for now I'll summarize and say that it was a fantastic trip.
I'm back at school and, as always, shopping period is driving me intothe cliffs of insanity. And we've only had a day of classes. Oy vey. And the inauguration! I haven't even talked about that. Maybe I'll come back to that and reflect a bit later. For now I'll leave you with Alex Ross's take on the music, with which I essentially agree.
Ross's final point: "I liked most of all the diverse picture of the classical world that the performers presented: an Israeli-born violinist, a Chinese-American cellist, a Venezuelan-born pianist, and an African-American clarinetist from the South Side of Chicago."
I mean, John Williams was kind of a lame choice - as some other critic said, they should have just played Copland - but it fit in well nonetheless. Other than that, I nearly cried several times, including during the swearing in when he said his full name. And also, you know, everything he said. I keep on pinching myself to find out if this really happened. Now, at some point in the months and years to come, people are going to inevitably be unhappy with him because there is no way he can live up to the expectations of every single person who has entrusted their hope and faith in his vision. But I'm an anthropologist, and I believe that symbolic events can carry a lot of weight. This one, I think, has the power to inspire the world. It's been fascinating to read the accounts of my friends who watched the inauguration from abroad.
I promise that I'll write at least the first installment of my New Mexico stories tomorrow. But now to bed, because I'm worn out already. Looking forward to this weekend, when I'll be seeing Kenny Garrett in Boston! He has such a gorgeous sound. Can't wait.
And now, your moment of Zen (courtesy of my brother):
I'm back at school and, as always, shopping period is driving me into
Ross's final point: "I liked most of all the diverse picture of the classical world that the performers presented: an Israeli-born violinist, a Chinese-American cellist, a Venezuelan-born pianist, and an African-American clarinetist from the South Side of Chicago."
I mean, John Williams was kind of a lame choice - as some other critic said, they should have just played Copland - but it fit in well nonetheless. Other than that, I nearly cried several times, including during the swearing in when he said his full name. And also, you know, everything he said. I keep on pinching myself to find out if this really happened. Now, at some point in the months and years to come, people are going to inevitably be unhappy with him because there is no way he can live up to the expectations of every single person who has entrusted their hope and faith in his vision. But I'm an anthropologist, and I believe that symbolic events can carry a lot of weight. This one, I think, has the power to inspire the world. It's been fascinating to read the accounts of my friends who watched the inauguration from abroad.
I promise that I'll write at least the first installment of my New Mexico stories tomorrow. But now to bed, because I'm worn out already. Looking forward to this weekend, when I'll be seeing Kenny Garrett in Boston! He has such a gorgeous sound. Can't wait.
And now, your moment of Zen (courtesy of my brother):
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