Tuesday, December 11, 2012
And for Your Daily Warm-Fuzzy...
A group of kids from Paraguay are making music on instruments made from recycled trash. Music is one of those privileges I most of the time take for granted. Take a look at the trailer for a movie about them: the Landfill Harmonic Orchestra.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Today
Yes, I am walking around the library in (bright pink) socks. Without shoes. No, I don't see a problem with this. In my defense, the green stripe over my toes (kind of) matches my green sweater.
I have settled into my library nook and can't decide if it is a home or an office, but either way it is mine for way too many hours of the day. I am cranking out papers like a mad woman, however, so good is coming of it.
I have settled into my library nook and can't decide if it is a home or an office, but either way it is mine for way too many hours of the day. I am cranking out papers like a mad woman, however, so good is coming of it.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Happy New Year!
Today marks the first day of the new year! The liturgical new year, that is. We start Year C in the lectionary today, which means that this year we read from the Gospel of Luke. I'm excited because he's my favorite of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). I celebrated this morning with French toast and Anne of Green Gables at breakfast time.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
One More Way to Procrastinate
One last finals-related procrastination aid, and then it's back to serious blogging. Here's a sleep calculator that tells you when to fall asleep, or wake up, based on when you will wake up -- calculated according to your body's natural sleep cycles.
Friday, November 30, 2012
A New Game
Today, let's keep it lighter:
Because xkcd did a picture this way, someone put together a place to try using only the 1,000 most used words. I wrote this bit using it. I promise it is harder than you would think. I wanted to use it to explain my paper but I can't write with the right meaning of words. God's pain, God feels bad, God feeling things, and things change God don't quite cut it. This is more straight forward than the one at xkcd, but can you guess from that what it might be about?
Because xkcd did a picture this way, someone put together a place to try using only the 1,000 most used words. I wrote this bit using it. I promise it is harder than you would think. I wanted to use it to explain my paper but I can't write with the right meaning of words. God's pain, God feels bad, God feeling things, and things change God don't quite cut it. This is more straight forward than the one at xkcd, but can you guess from that what it might be about?
[Note: xkcd isn't one of the 1,000 most common words, but I needed to give credit!]
Thursday, November 29, 2012
On Luminous Geckos
M
ost of the time when I am on my soapboxes online -- here, Facebook, Pintrest -- I am on them because they are fun places to be. Not that I see the problems as fun, but I like a good fight. Sometimes, however, the problem part hits home, and I remember I am not passionate about these things because it is a good fight. I am passionate because this is real. It's the difference between a midnight bathroom debate about abortion with a hallmate who is swiftly becoming a best friend and standing outside a abortion facility praying for the scared women and the men who don't know another way to love them.
The abortion soapbox is made real every week in that way. Today, I want to make the feminist soapbox real. I have two quick reads to do so -- two of the best reads I've stumbled across (one through Julia and one by following links from Unequally Yoked) on this subject.
The first piece is an anecdote about a Luminuously Beautiful Woman and an Awkward Dude. The second is a parable about a dog and a gecko to explain the concept of "male privilege." Read these first -- they are good reads, I promise (though you will have to excuse the profanity). All educated? Good!
I have to admit, when I read the Luminous story, I stopped to try to figure out The Question, and I couldn't. It bothered me for a bit until I fully processed the story and The Question -- and then I realized that I hadn't been able to figure out The Question, because I assumed the answer. It didn't need to be asked. As soon as Luminous started placing physical barriers (such as Dr. Glass) between herself and Awkward Dude, I realized that this guy was a serious threat to her safety. We use emotional and social barriers to deal with awkward; we use physical barriers to deal with danger.
Hopefully you can see the connection between Luminous and the gecko. I like both these pieces because they put into words what I had previously grasped intuitively and brought out explicitly what I have experienced but never crystallized into coherent thoughts. They also show why, despite the substantial progress feminists have made since the early 1900s, more work is needed.
The abortion soapbox is made real every week in that way. Today, I want to make the feminist soapbox real. I have two quick reads to do so -- two of the best reads I've stumbled across (one through Julia and one by following links from Unequally Yoked) on this subject.
The first piece is an anecdote about a Luminuously Beautiful Woman and an Awkward Dude. The second is a parable about a dog and a gecko to explain the concept of "male privilege." Read these first -- they are good reads, I promise (though you will have to excuse the profanity). All educated? Good!
I have to admit, when I read the Luminous story, I stopped to try to figure out The Question, and I couldn't. It bothered me for a bit until I fully processed the story and The Question -- and then I realized that I hadn't been able to figure out The Question, because I assumed the answer. It didn't need to be asked. As soon as Luminous started placing physical barriers (such as Dr. Glass) between herself and Awkward Dude, I realized that this guy was a serious threat to her safety. We use emotional and social barriers to deal with awkward; we use physical barriers to deal with danger.
Hopefully you can see the connection between Luminous and the gecko. I like both these pieces because they put into words what I had previously grasped intuitively and brought out explicitly what I have experienced but never crystallized into coherent thoughts. They also show why, despite the substantial progress feminists have made since the early 1900s, more work is needed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)