Sometimes I think grad school broke my brain, because I'm not reading as much as I used to. In any case...
Now reading:
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
laughin', spinnin', swingin' madly across the sun
1. WHYY/NPR did a piece on my old neighborhood in Camden. I miss that place. It could be isolating and frustrating, but oh-so-full of hope and goodness. Every time I go back, I'm reminded of why I should have faith in humanity.
Thanks to Andrea for the link.
2. Because this crap about the "Ground Zero Mosque" (which is not on Ground Zero, nor is it a mosque) is driving me crazy, here are some voices of reason: Fred Clark, the Slacktivist, and Gus Bridi.
3. The poverty level in the US is the highest it's been in 15 years. The poverty line for a single adult is $10,830 and $22,050 for a family of four. This past year was the first year that I was over the poverty line, though I'm not sure how they count grad students (in 08-09, when I was in school, I was making $400/month. Student loans saved my life).
4. The Cupcake Lady! She is parked a block away from my office right now. And the cupcakes are good, man.
5. My parents are coming down this weekend, and they've promised to take over our kitchen and make dinner for me and my housemates. Yay.
And that's all for now.
Thanks to Andrea for the link.
2. Because this crap about the "Ground Zero Mosque" (which is not on Ground Zero, nor is it a mosque) is driving me crazy, here are some voices of reason: Fred Clark, the Slacktivist, and Gus Bridi.
3. The poverty level in the US is the highest it's been in 15 years. The poverty line for a single adult is $10,830 and $22,050 for a family of four. This past year was the first year that I was over the poverty line, though I'm not sure how they count grad students (in 08-09, when I was in school, I was making $400/month. Student loans saved my life).
4. The Cupcake Lady! She is parked a block away from my office right now. And the cupcakes are good, man.
5. My parents are coming down this weekend, and they've promised to take over our kitchen and make dinner for me and my housemates. Yay.
And that's all for now.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
a people without history is not redeemed from time
Well, hey, September 12th.
I think I meant to write something yesterday, something about mourning and loss and how remembering shouldn't equal revenge, so on and so forth, but I didn't.
Anyway. Here's what I always think about on September 11.
I think I meant to write something yesterday, something about mourning and loss and how remembering shouldn't equal revenge, so on and so forth, but I didn't.
Anyway. Here's what I always think about on September 11.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
I have squandered my resistance for a pocket full of mumbles
I saw this story on The New York Times today.
To make it brief, a Republican in Arizona (oh, Arizona, again) has been recruiting homeless people to run on the Green Party ticket in order to split the Democratic vote. A lot of Democrats have been denouncing this as "deceitful" and "not right" and as a corruption of the democratic (small d) process. They're right, of course.
But what makes me really angry is this: that people in power are using the least powerful to do their dirty work.
I think I need to go back a few steps and explain why I'm so angry about this.
To make it brief, a Republican in Arizona (oh, Arizona, again) has been recruiting homeless people to run on the Green Party ticket in order to split the Democratic vote. A lot of Democrats have been denouncing this as "deceitful" and "not right" and as a corruption of the democratic (small d) process. They're right, of course.
But what makes me really angry is this: that people in power are using the least powerful to do their dirty work.
I think I need to go back a few steps and explain why I'm so angry about this.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
On cabins and campfires
This short piece on Feministe inspired me to write a bit about camp.
When I was about 7 or 8, a woman came to my Pioneer Girls (think Girl Scouts in church) meeting to give a presentation about camp. By the time the promotional video got to the part where girls were swinging from belay ropes and shooting rifles, I was transfixed. I wanted to go, really, really badly wanted to go.
My parents said no. I was too young to go by myself. I also suspect at this point that we didn't have the money. I was persistent, though, for three summers, and finally (FINALLY!), when I was in fifth grade, my parents said yes. My mom came with me, mainly because we got half off the price, and I got a small scholarship as well.
My parents had no idea what kind of monster they were unleashing.
When I was about 7 or 8, a woman came to my Pioneer Girls (think Girl Scouts in church) meeting to give a presentation about camp. By the time the promotional video got to the part where girls were swinging from belay ropes and shooting rifles, I was transfixed. I wanted to go, really, really badly wanted to go.
My parents said no. I was too young to go by myself. I also suspect at this point that we didn't have the money. I was persistent, though, for three summers, and finally (FINALLY!), when I was in fifth grade, my parents said yes. My mom came with me, mainly because we got half off the price, and I got a small scholarship as well.
My parents had no idea what kind of monster they were unleashing.
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