Jump off the Bridge

Blog Note

2010-01-29T12:39:00.003-05:00

This is just a blog note for those who don't use a blog reader, but rather visit the blog. Lately I've noticed some weird glitches throughout the blog. They're mostly little things that you'd only notice if you visited regularly, though some is a bit more obvious (like where the hell did the dates go for my posts?!?!). I guess this is a bit of a warning in case more strange stuff starts happening.

I'm trying to figure out what's going on and how to fix it (if you have technical expertise, please let me know). In the meantime, carry on!

No Abortion Ban: The People Speak

2010-01-26T11:30:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a video for the No Abortion Ban campaign by Center for Reproductive Rights. As I mentioned in that post, there was a call for others to participate by sharing what they don't want their tax dollars spent on. The people have spoken, and here's their response:

[Jay Smooth, speaking to camera, with the words 'Last Time...' on the bottom left corner.]

Smooth: There are some members of Congress who are committed to stripping abortion coverage from our health care, and the Hyde Amendment is how they do it. Everyone in America disagrees with where some of their tax money goes, but nobody else ever gets to pick and choose where their tax money goes, so we need to speak out on this right now.

[Text on screen says: 'And you did.'
Instrumental music starts playing and continues to play in the background for the rest of the video.
Rectangular frames with rounded corners appear on top of each other so that you can see the top frame and part of the frames below it. Each frame features a different responder their their name in caps. When the clip is over, the top frame peels away and shows the one below it. The effect resembles turning through a pack of photos.]

Marisa: Some in congress don’t want federal money going to fund abortion.

Lizz: I don’t want my tax dollars going to fund torture prisons in Cuba.

Xena: Imprisoning and torturing people who have never had a fair trial.

Emmily: I don't want my tax dollars spent on the fairytale secrets of abstinence-only sex ed.

Matthew: I don't want my tax dollars spent on discharging men and women from the military because they're gay. Almost twenty thousand dollars each time.

IAmDrTiller: Some members of congress don't want tax dollars spent on abortion.

Jen: Well I don't want my tax dollars to fund the death penalty.

Omer: [holding photo of bomber plane next to face] I don't want more than a billion of my tax dollars going to fund the F-22 bomber, a plane the military doesn't even want.

Lee: From now on, I think the defense department should send us each a list of all the crazy stuff they're doing and, uh, we get to pick which ones we want to fund.

Amie: I don't want my tax dollars going towards crisis pregnancy centers.

Whole Women's Health: [group of five in the frame, one speaks] We don't want our tax dollars spent on

Whole Women's Health: [one person in the frame] Law enforcement that fails to protect the women we serve.

Leila and Tara: [Two women in the same frame, one in front, one woman a few feet behind her.]
Woman in back: I don't want my tax dollars spent on keeping me from marrying you.
Woman in front: [cringes and turns to face woman in back] I don't want to marry you.
[Woman in back looks sideways and slaps knee. Both women laugh.]

[Rectangular frames removed, showing a dark background with text on the screen. Each sentence that follows appears on the screen after a few seconds. Text on screen says: 'Hyde blocks abortion coverage for millions. The new healthcare bill expands Hyde restrictions to millions more. No one else gets to pick and choose where our tax money goes. Stop unjust special treatment. Help millions.']

[Text on screen says 'noabortionban.org' with voice over by Jay Smooth.]
Smooth: For more on the fight for reproductive rights worldwide, go to noabortionban.org today. Thank you.

(Cross-posted at Feministe.)

Book Review: Tell Me Something True

2010-01-24T09:00:00.001-05:00

Tell Me Something True is about a young woman, Gabriella, who spends a summer visiting family in Colombia and what she learns about her mother, Helena, upon discovering her diary. Helena died when Gabriella was only a baby, so the image Gabriella has of her mother is broken when she is confronted by the secrets her mother kept. Meanwhile, she is dealing with her own life and the complications that arise as she develops a relationship with the son of a drug lord.

After reading the first few chapters, I thought I was going to hate it because it seemed too predictable. But as I kept reading, I felt myself drawn in by the lives of these two women and ended up really liking the book. Despite its predictability (which I found problematic throughout the entire book), it was the development of the characters that I enjoyed. I felt there was a lot about both Gabriella and Helena that I could relate to. As a Latina growing up in the U.S., I struggled with fitting in, balancing independence and obedience, managing expectations, visiting family abroad, etc., and I think a lot of that was captured very well in this book. Of course, these struggles aren’t exclusive to Latinas, and I think there is something for everyone to connect with as they read.

The structure of the novel is one of the things I liked most about it. Each chapter switches back and forth between Gabriella’s experiences in the present, written in the third person, and entries from Helena’s diary, written in the first person. Because the diary entries are moving forward in time (for the most part, anyway), there is an anticipation that comes with each entry as the reader waits to know the whole story. I like novels that jump through time and shift narrators, so in some ways I was the ideal reader. Those who find such narratives frustrating might have a hard time connecting to the story.

Based on the reviews I’ve read, another complaint people have about this book is that they don’t like the ending. There isn’t much I can say without giving it away, but I will say that in many ways the ending made me connect with Gabriella’s character even more. In my opinion, it was a more realistic ending rather than the typical storybook ending. There are also some questions left unanswered about other characters, so there isn’t the sense of closure that people expect. Personally, I don’t mind not knowing, but I can certainly see why others would feel let down by the ending.

So if you like books with traditional narratives and happy endings, you probably shouldn’t pick this one up. But if those things aren’t particularly important to you, this book might be a pleasant surprise, even with its predictability. At its core, this novel is a coming of age story with a couple of twists. It’s also about relationships – the ones that fall apart unexpectedly, and the ones that strengthen under unlikely circumstances.

Blog for Choice 2010

2010-01-22T10:00:00.001-05:00

Hey hey, it's Blog for Choice Day! Each year, they pose a question to spark the dialogue. Last year it was about our hopes for the Obama administration. This year's question, in honor of Dr. Tiller, is: What does Trust Women mean to you?

As I was trying to come up with my response to this, I watched this video from GRITtv about reproductive rights as human rights. Do check it out if you have some time - it's about 20 minutes long. It features Carole Joffe, author of Dispatches from the Abortion Wars, Silvia Henriquez, E.D. of NLIRH, and Lynn Paltrow, E.D. of National Advocates for Pregnant Women. (I'm hoping I'll have some time this weekend to add a transcript. If somebody else has one, please let me know.)

The dialogue here touches on a lot, here are some bullet points until I get a transcript:

some (but not enough) improvement under Obama in terms of rights
Latinas and immigrants need access they don't/won't have
a reminder that pregnant women keeping their civil rights is still a radical notion
stressing that local access is a particular problem
the fanaticism in assaulting women's rights and access
abortion rights might not be the priority for most, but human rights should be
anti-choicers focus on attacking the basic human rights of pregnant women but don't try to reduce unplanned pregnancies
contraception was the middle ground before, but now it's lumped with abortion
focusing on abortion is effective for Conservatives because it provides a distraction and prevents adequate health care reform
abortion providers are constantly under attack and clinics are targeted more under Obama, but there are physicians committed to providing abortions
we need to step it up with our activism and call them out on the misinformation they spread

Like I said, there's a lot discussed, but there are two points in particular I want to focus on. The first is the notion that reproductive rights are human rights. To me, that's the crux of what Trust Women means. Abortion is simply a medical procedure that allows a woman to do with her body what she wants and needs. Having a fertilized egg inside of her doesn't suddenly make her incapable of making decisions, yet she is suddenly deemed unworthy of retaining her rights. The second point is closely linked to the first, in my opinion, and that's education and information. If women are given access to accurate information about contraception, abortion, adoption, childbirth, etc., then why should anybody else be allowed to interfere with her decision and her rights?

If we set up a system built on mistrust and misinformation, then there is no hope for having a system that trusts women and puts women's rights at the forefront. Yet that is the system we currently have. There are so many people who just aren't informed, who don't have access to contraception, and who don't understand the basics of abortion. The video stresses activism, and I don't disagree, but I think the activism has to be geared towards education and emphasizing that reproductive rights are human rights.

That's my take on it, what's yours? What does Trust Women mean to you?

(Cross-posted at Feministe)

The "No Abortion Ban" Campaign

2010-01-14T13:00:00.003-05:00

Hot off the presses (or whatever the YouTube equivalent is): this awesome video about the Hyde Amendment put together by Center for Reproductive Rights. Check it out!

~~I don't have a transcript for the video yet (if you do, please send it on over)~~ There's a transcript for the video at the end of this post (THANKS CHALLY!).

The video features bloggers and other voices in the pro-choice movement who complete the sentence: “Some in Congress don’t want federal money going to fund abortions. I don’t want MY tax dollars spent on _________.” It really gets you thinking about how much of our tax dollars goes into projects we don't support, but we can't do anything about. Why is it cool for us to give our money to those causes but not cool for our money to go to access to abortion?

So now that this video's got you thinking about that, it's your turn to take part! Check out the campaign page for No Abortion Ban and think about what you don't want your tax dollars to be spent on. Create a 20-second video clip with your response by January 20th and maybe you'll see yourself in the next video.

[Effect as though switching on an old fashioned television]

[Jay Smooth, speaking to camera, with his name and website (illdoctrine.com) at the bottom of the screen. 'Center for Reproductive Justice' is at the bottom right of the screen and remains throughout Smooth's parts of the video.]
Smooth: The Hyde Amendment. We need to talk about the Hyde Amendment.
Since 1976, Congress has tacked the Hyde Amendment onto every annual appropriations bill, blocking access to needed healthcare services for millions of poor women and families. [this paragraph summarised in dot points on screen]
And right now the Stupak and Nelson amendments on this current health care bill try to expand Hyde into the private market, restricting insurance for abortion even when people pay for coverage themselves. [this paragraph summarised in dotpoints on screen again]
Why does this one crowd get to pick and choose on this one thing (that’s totally unjust) while the rest of us never get to pick and choose?
['the views expressed are bloggers' own...' appears at the bottom of the screen]
I mean imagine, in your ideal world, what would you say we shouldn’t spend your tax money on?

[Bloggers appear in rectangular frames with rounded corners on a black screen, with their names in white capital letters below and their websites in grey below their names. When they finish, their images shrink and the next blogger's expands to replace it.]

Aimee Thorne-Thomsen of protectchoice.org: Well I don’t want my tax dollars spent on building a 700 mile fence along the US-Mexico border.

Sarah Seltzer of rhrealitycheck,org: Well I don’t want my tax dollars spent on a wasteful, racist war on drugs.

Jesse Taylor of pandagon.net: You know what I wish the federal government wouldn’t spend money on anymore? Cancelling my favourite public television shows. [lowers voice so that it's more whispery] I miss you.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell of thenation.com and Heather Corinna of scarleteen.com, appearing in separate boxes: I don’t want my tax dollars spent-
Corinna: -on abstinence-only sex education-
Harris-Lacewell: -incarceration rather than education-
Corinna: -corporate federal bailouts.

Jill Filipovic of feministe.us: Well I don’t want my tax dollars spent on corporate farm subsidies.

Amanda Marcotte of pandagon.net: Well I don’t wanna spend my tax dollars on mercenary organisations like Blackwater.

[Allison Kilkenny of allisonkilkenny.com and Jamie Kilstein of WeAreCitizenRadio.com appear in the same shot]
Kilstein: Wait.
Kilkenny: Mm.
Kilstein: You know what’s really dangerous?
[Kilkenny turns to look at Kilstein]
Kilstein: A woman’s right to choose a safe medical procedure.
[Kilkenny turns back and nods in the direction of the camera.]
Kilkenny: Mmm.
Kilstein: Oh wait!

Thorne-Thomsen: Abortion care is healthcare and don’t all women deserve good healthcare?

Smooth: The impact of the Hyde Amendment will be hugely expanded when this healthcare bill adds millions more women and families to Medicaid. So we need to speak out on this right now.
Submit your own video about what you don’t want your tax dollars spent on and help us prove how hypocritical and unfair the Hyde Amendment is. We’ll share some of your best submissions with the world. [On screen: Submit your YouTube vid (up to 20 secs) to: http://reproductiverights.org/youtube.
[stroking cat] For more on the right for reproductive rights worldwide, go to noabortionban.org today. Thank you.

[on screen: noabortionban.org]

[Effect as though switching on an old fashioned television]

Best of '09 - JotB Edition!

2010-01-06T10:30:00.000-05:00

I was browsing through the blog and began to wonder which posts were the most popular over the last year. I thought the results were so varied that it'd be cool to do a compilation post of sorts, so here goes!

The top post of '09 was (the potentially NSFW) As Long As There's No Hair. I was surprised to see this come out on top, but cool.

I was ecstatic to find that one of my Legendary Latinas posts made it to the top! I thought it'd be the Frida post because I got good feedback from that, but it was actually the Gloria Anzaldúa post. Considering my deep love for Anzaldúa, that was nice.

Another popular post was History Repeats Itself with Gender and the Economy. This post was about what's happened in the past when women become the breadwinners. I'm not sure what the figures are like now, not even a year later, but it'd be interesting to investigate a follow-up if the economy continues to decline.

I found it hilarious that another top post was Et Tu, Shakira? Seriously y'all, I just don't like new Shakira, or at least what I've heard so far. Maybe I'll give it another shot again, I don't know...

And rounding off this top 5 is Have a Happy Period, in which I profess my love for my Diva Cup and encouraged others to give it a try.

Honorable Mention: Manly Men Wear Skirts. This post is actually from August of '08, but it is still a top post! It has the most comments of all my posts, and a lot of the top search terms for my blog are related to men wearing skirts. I wrote a follow-up this summer during the blogathon, Manly Men Still Wear Skirts, complete with pictures!

I hope you enjoy this look back as I brainstorm what's coming up ahead.

Best of '09 Part 2

2009-12-30T10:15:00.004-05:00

Here's my continuation of yesterday's #best09 recap.

December 14 Rush.
Finishing the last hike in Cinque Terre! If you read the other post, you must've known that one was coming, right? The day of our second hike was kinda torture, so the end was quite victorious. The first day was nothing more than a scenic stroll (we actually sang through the hike, that was fun!), but the second day was much more challenging. We wheezed, huffed and puffed through what seemed like a never-ending trek, but getting through the end was definitely the biggest rush of the year.

December 15 Best packaging.
Packaging? Random... I guess The Beatles remastered. That's some nice packaging. Sleek and whatnot.

December 16 Tea of the year.
I tried some of those Yogi teas this year! So yummy! My usual tea is Tazo's Calm with honey, but Lipton with LOTS of lemon & honey is also yum. But those Yogi teas hit the spot - what on earth do they put in that?!

December 17 Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. "2009 was _____."
.... a roller coaster. Most of my highs and lows were family-related, but it was definitely a roller coaster in other areas of my life as well.

December 18 Shop.
Between all the books I bought and The Beatles remastered catalog, Borders got a lot of my money this year. If I had more money to spend there, I totally would. I realize that's not actually a "shop," especially since most of my shopping was online, but whatever.

December 19 Car ride.
When I was in Indianapolis for the NOW conference this summer, it was the first time I drove around by myself for an entire weekend. I rented a car and stayed at a hotel kinda far from the conference and certainly far from the airport, so I did a lot of driving around. I listened to the Once soundtrack and ate McD's for most of those drives. I was nervous at first because I hadn't driven alone in a while and I was so far from home, but I loved it. I even drove in rush hour traffic for the first time ever!

December 20 New person.
I met lots of cool people this year, mostly at conferences. I kinda have to choose Sarah though because months after meeting at WAM!, she moved to NYC and now we're buds. I heart her, she's my homegirl.

December 21 Project.
This one is tough because I was tempted to say the blogathon. That was definitely a proud moment for me. Having to stay up blogging for 24 hours is not something I ever pictured myself doing, but it was for a good cause and I was ecstatic to make it through. BUT!

My Legendary Latinas series was the project of the year for me, for sure. I don't know how much people enjoyed the series as a whole (I know my Frida post got a lot of love), but I was so proud when I read those posts again a couple of weeks ago. I got to learn more about some of the women I've always admired and to introduce them to other people meant a lot to me. I wasn't sure I'd make it through because it was hard to write some of it, but I did and I'm happy with the result.

December 22 Startup.
The only startup I had any real experience with this year is not one I would even label "good," let alone "best." I have no answer to this...

December 23 Web tool.
I started using Tumblr this year! That's one! There are a few more web tools I got some experience with this year but I won't really start using more until early next year. But Tumblr would win that battle anyway just out of pure awesomeness.

December 24 Learning experience.
The pessimistic answer to this would be that if you start thinking "this can't get any worse," it probably will. But I also learned that being alone isn't as bad as I always thought. Growing up, my biggest fear was dying alone, without any friends or other people around to do things with or to care about me when I was gone. (Let's ignore how strange that is for a child to fear.) But this year I traveled alone a lot which meant that I spent a good amount of time wandering around by myself, driving by myself, getting lost by myself, exploring by myself, and so on. I was alone in a way I never really have been before, and it was actually nice.

December 25 Gift.
I was going to try to think of something nice and profound that I gifted myself this year, but my answer is BEATLES ROCK BAND! I have put that game to good use, yes I have! Now if only I could get my guy to make the downloadable content work, I'd be set. Though maybe then I'd never have time for anything else...

December 26 Insight or aha! moment.
This is actually kinda personal, so I'm not going to write it here. Let's just say it has to do with realizing that there are some jobs people just can't do. Whether it's ability, will, talent, whatever -- people should just not do things they can't do well.

December 27 Social web moment.
Well I met lots of people this year I previously only knew online, mostly at WAM! I think all of WAM! was one big awesome social web moment. Using Twitter to keep up with what was going on throughout the conference, meeting bloggers and tweeps I'd never met, learning about new ways to use social media, etc.

December 28 Stationery.
Sadly, I'm still waiting for the best stationery. I've been trying to find a really good notebook all year, and have yet to get one. Notebook, please come to me before year's end!

December 29 Laugh.
I love laughing and I laugh a lot, so I don't even know one moment. All the funny times of the year are just flying through my head.

December 30 Ad.
I don't watch commercials, so this is really hard... I haven't seen this one in person, but the domestic violence ad "it happens when nobody is looking" seems pretty cool.

December 31 Resolution you wish you'd stuck with.
I'm not big on resolutions, but I tried making one this year and it was to trust my gut. I can't say I struck with it throughout the entire year, and I certainly wish I had. But there were moments when I remembered it, and I tried to listen to my own instincts more than usual. In my planning for next year, I'll trust my gut and have it lead the way.

Best of '09 Part 1

2009-12-29T10:30:00.002-05:00

People have been posting their responses to Gwen Bell's Best of 09 Blog Challenge all over tumblr and twitter as #best09. I'm a bit late to the party, but better late than never, right?! So here's my part 1, I'll post the other half tomorrow.

December 1 Trip.
Oooh! This was a good year for traveling! I visited three states and four countries. My trip to Europe goes at the top of the list, of course. If I have to pick a favorite experience in that trip, it'd be hiking through Cinque Terre, Italy.

December 2 Restaurant moment.
The tapas & wine restaurant in Barcelona; Santa Maria I believe it was called. My sisters, my guy, and our friend -- great tapas, awesome conversation, yummy yummy wine.

December 3 Article.
Hmm, this one's tough because I am always reading, so I don't really remember things for very long... That article about McDonald's in France?

December 4 Book.
I read so many books this year, and yet none of them really stand out. *browses through Goodreads read list* Oh yes! Everything Changes by Kairol Rosenthal is probably the one that touched me the most. I actually have gone back to look through it a couple of times, and throughout all of this health care debate stuff, I've been thinking about it even more. Maybe I'll write a post about it...

December 5 Night out.
I'm not sure if the night "rocked my world," but the night in Barcelona with the tapas bar I mentioned above. That night was pretty damn memorable. Because tapas and wine was just the beginning of a night that featured mojitos, absinthe, a bar in an apartment, a Lauryn Hill sing-a-long through las Ramblas, and more.

December 6 Workshop or conference.
Definitely WAM! This was the year of conferences and trainings and whatnot, but WAM! was definitely the best. I got to meet some amazing people, make great connections, and learn a lot.

December 7 Blog find of the year.
I discovered a lot of blogs this year, but most of them haven't been around for that long, so I'm guessing they don't count. I can't really think of anything, but I guess I'll say Cake Wrecks for sheer funny.

December 8 Moment of peace.
There were a few moments during my hike through Cinque Terre (well, the second day, not the first day) that were the most peaceful I've felt pretty much ever. They were the moments that my sister and I stopped to catch our breath, where we just looked around us and enjoyed the beauty of the ocean, the towns in the distance, the greenery all around us... It was beautiful. My body was working over-time, but my mind felt at peace for the first time in a long time. Nothing else mattered -- not the work I had back home, not the plans I need to make, the goals for the coming months, nothing. It was just me and her and the beauty around us.

December 9 Challenge.
I don't have a great answer for this... I feel the entire year was a bit of a roller coaster, but nothing was really resolved. My family situation is all over the place, my finances are a mess, I'm not really where I want to be. I guess the biggest challenge has been trying to get a handle on what I want to accomplish and what really matters to me. Over the past couple of weeks, that's been clearing up for me a bit more, but this isn't something I'll feel comfortable with until I actually have a plan ready.

December 10 Album of the year.
I suppose I can't say the entire Beatles remastered stereo catalog? I discovered a lot of good music this year, but nothing fantabulous. But best of the year? Damn. Alanis' Flavors of Entanglement came out last year, but I rocked it hard this year. Maybe that's cheating, but that's all I've got.

December 11 The best place.
I don't have a place... Is that sad or what? Can I say Paris? Not exactly a "place" I frequent but I love Paris and had fun there! Or if it should be more local and regular, I guess I'll have to say the lawn at my building complex. I spent many a summer morning and afternoon there reading and writing. Not exactly my favorite place (certainly not better than Paris!), but it's nice.

December 12 New food.
I didn't really try anything new this year. Those tapas in Spain were yummy, but that's not really new lol.

December 13 What's the best change you made to the place you live?
I moved this year, so that pretty much covers change, doesn't it? We now live in a neighborhood where there are supermarkets, bars, restaurants, and banks within walking distance! Good times!

Virtual Caroling

2009-12-24T12:30:00.001-05:00

Okay folks, it's the holidays, I'm sick as a dog, totally backed up at work, blah blah blah. So let's take a break from everything and enjoy some music, yes? What kind of music, you say? Why, Xmas music of course!! I don't much like Christmas, but Christmas music should be played year-round, I say.

Have a holly jolly Xmas!

Rock around that Xmas tree. *dances*

And, of course, Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

Survey Time!

2009-12-18T09:00:00.002-05:00

Now for something completely different...

I am going to say something and I want you to tell me the first image that pops into your head: fangirl

*whistling as you think about this image*

****************

Now another one, same deal - tell me the first image that pops into your head: fanboy

*more whistling*

Were your images the same or completely different?

This popped into my head yesterday while I was reading something (can't remember what it was, sorry) that mentioned fanboys. I got to thinking about the images behind the fanboy and fangirl labels. I don't know about you, but when I think of fanboys, I think of geeky guys who are obsessed about something. The first things I think about are Star Wars and technology. When I picture a fangirl, I think of teeny-bopper girls screaming about a hot guy, probably from Twilight.

It's rather sad for me to realize that's what I picture, but it's the truth. Because it's strange for me to picture guys being "fanboys" about an attractive person, they must be fanboys for something worth while like computers or the internet, or at least something with a following like Star Wars. But it's totally normal to think of girls screaming over boys.

So I'm curious to hear what you all pictured. Please share!

Story Time: Business or Pleasure

2009-12-17T11:00:00.001-05:00

It's time for a story! We'll call this one "Business or Pleasure."

I'm at a networking type of event, trying to schmooze, get business cards, that whole bit. I meet a couple of interesting people but move on to the next, as these things go. Next up is a man. He sees me and walks up to me and starts chatting. It's the usual "so what do you do, where do you work, how'd you hear about this event," nothing suspicious. Then it turns out that one area of expertise I have is something he needs for his business. Cool, right? Because who doesn't want to do something they love and get paid for it for some extra income. Awesome.

You keep talking and now it's more friendly conversation. Where are you from (which in this case meant nationality... you never really know in NY), what's there to do for fun in NY, do you go out dancing? Because I love going out dancing, you should come.

Wait, what?

So now I'm starting to wonder, is this guy just really friendly and recognizing what an awesome person I am? Or is he not at all serious about needing my expertise and just trying to hit on me?

I sort of presume the former and carry on as normal, but it's really been bugging me ever since. I don't usually assume the worst in people, but it really made me think. I mean, I'm at an event, I look nice (if I do say so myself), I've got makeup on and heels and everything... How the hell am I supposed to know if a man is actually interested in doing business with me and not just hitting on me?

This is all too confusing. It's enough to make me want to stay home instead.

(Cross-posted at Feministe.)

5 Rules for Surviving in NYC

2009-12-11T19:50:00.003-05:00

I've noticed lately that a lot of people in my online networks fall into one of these categories: just moved to NY, moving to NY, want to move to NY. I'm not sure why they would do that, but I figured I'd impart some wisdom to help everyone out. A lot of these will likely apply to life anywhere, but whatever. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I find they are sometimes ignored yet very useful! Feel free to add in the comments as we all learn from each other.

1) Do not make eye contact. Ever. With anyone. Men will take that as an invite to harass you and women will wonder why you are looking at them. Men will likely harass you anyway, but no need to give them more of a chance to.

2) Be nice to service folk. They will probably be cranky because they have to deal with clueless tourists and annoyed New Yorkers. Be nice anyway. Also, they might seem a bit distracted - that's probably because they have an audition right after. Be nice anyway.

3) Be extra nice to bus drivers. Now, depending on your borough, you may never even ride a bus! (Congratulations!) But if you do, be very nice to them. Say hi when you step on and thank you when you get off. They are cooped up with even more clueless tourists and annoyed New Yorkers all day. They also have to deal with NYC traffic(!!!) while cooped up with these people.

4) Don't be too nice to bus drivers. At least not if you plan on sitting anywhere near the front of the bus. The bitter ones will glare at you and make you feel uncomfortable. The friendly ones will not stop talking to you throughout your entire ride, which will likely be longer than you expected (did I mention NYC traffic(!!!)?). This will annoy you as you do work or read or nap or try to catch the attention of that hottie across the aisle.

5) Never start a sentence with "no respectable New Yorker..." Just, don't. As soon as those words fall out of your mouth, you cease to be a respectable New Yorker and your credibility is out the window. Because no respectable New Yorker says that.

Hey, It's Human Rights Day

2009-12-10T12:50:00.000-05:00

Happy Human Rights Day!

Did you know such a day even existed? Well it does!

How will you be celebrating?

And, if you work for a human rights organization, feel free to plug in whatever action* you'd like folks to take today. Let's spread the love, shall we?

*Please don't just make an appeal for donations or I'll delete the comment. I know it's hard, but I'd prefer it if we stuck to plain old activism just for the day. And I know donations are crucial, I work in the non-profit sector. But, again, just for today.

Take Back the Tech

2009-12-09T17:00:00.001-05:00

I wish I had heard of this sooner, but better late than never, right?

Take Back the Tech is a campaign to stop violence against women by reclaiming information and communications technologies. The campaign is from Nov. 25 through Dec. 10 and invites supporters to take action every day and spread the word.

From their site:

Domestic violence survivors may use ICT and the internet to overcome isolation, by accessing information about domestic violence, legal protection and available services or assistance. Many women’s organisations make such information available on their websites, or offer email or telephone contacts for counselling and support. Abusers, on the other hand, may make use of technologies such as spy software, wireless technology, logging facilities in instant messaging services and internet browsers, webcams, and global positioning systems (GPS) to track and monitor survivors’ activities both online and offline.

They've got tips for online chat safety, ideas for making digital postcards, videos, and more. I particularly like the 16 daily actions. Today's action, for example, was about building feminist knowledge through the use of wikis. They list some feminist wikis and encourage you to report on stats and country profiles on Wikipedia.

Take some time to sift through the site, particularly the campaign kit, and follow along on Twitter.

The Afghan Women Tug of War

2009-12-05T12:10:00.003-05:00

Earlier this week, GRITtv posted an interview with a woman from RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. I wanted to post the video for you all to watch and just say a few things that came to mind as I was watching.

For those who can't watch the video, here's a quick summary: Zoya (that's not her real name) talks about how RAWA predicted that the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan would fail. They believed there were "less bloody alternatives," starting by not working with the Northern Alliance terrorist group. She stresses that what is touted as success in the U.S. (opening schools, banning the burka), does not have a significant impact in Afghanistan. She says that this all goes back to the 1980s when the U.S. first supported these groups and that the mistakes are being repeated. The situation for women in particular (rape, domestic violence, child marriage, etc.) has gotten worse under U.S. control. RAWA is in favor of U.S. withdrawal, but Zoya says that we can help their society by urging our officials to get out. She ends by saying, "if you cannot help us, leave us. But if you want to help us, [...] take all these fundamentalist viruses that United States government created for Afghanistan."
(If anybody has a transcript for this video or would like to draft one up, please let me know and I'll link to it.)

The first thing you'll notice is that Zoya uses a pseudonym and has her face blurred out. We don't need to get into why that's necessary, right? Speaking out as a woman in Afghanistan, I think it's great that she's even on a speaking tour.

What struck me after seeing this video is how different her message is compared to something I read earlier this week about women's groups in Afghanistan wanting long-term U.S. presence. That article compared to this video paint two very different pictures about what life is like for women in Afghanistan.

I think some of it might be as simple as which women they are talking about. Zoya says in the video that we can't just talk about one or two areas, but all of the provinces as a whole. If the situation improves drastically in a few areas but worsens just as drastically, if not more so, in several others, then can it really be viewed as a success?

But what I really want to focus on is how either way, it all comes back to women. One group says the U.S. must stay in order to help women. Another group says the U.S. must leave in order to help women and the country as a whole. No matter what, Afghan women are being used as a political bargaining chip.

I don't know about you, but the loudest voice I often hear is the one saying that the U.S. has to stay in order to help these women. So what message is that sending? Think of the ammunition that is giving those who are against the war. Now they get to be against the war and resentful towards Afghan women since these women are being portrayed as a primary reason for the troops to stay.

We all know how this ends, though. Women lose either way.

(Cross-posted at Feministe)

Book Review: Feminist Agendas and Democracy in Latin America

2009-12-01T09:50:00.002-05:00

Feminist Agendas and Democracy in Latin America
Edited by Jane S. Jaquette
Duke University Press

The feminist experience of women in Latin America is not one that is often written about or discussed -- many discussions about politics in Latin America leave feminism out, and discussions of feminism in general are often limited to the U.S. and Europe. Perhaps it’s for this reason that I immediately warmed to Feminist Agendas and Democracy in Latin America, but it was the content and style that kept me reading.

This book is meant to analyze and compare the structure of feminist movements in Latin American countries that have become democratic in recent history. The book is broken down into three sections: Feminism and the State, Legal Strategies and Democratic Institutions, and International and Cross-Border Activism. In these sections, each chapter is written by women with firsthand experience and/or academic expertise in the feminist or women’s movement in the particular country or region they are writing about. The book begins and ends with a chapter by the book’s editor, Jane Jaquette, who pulls the pieces together to give a sense of the bigger picture.

What I liked most about this book, particularly when compared to others I’ve read about women and feminism in Latin America, is that it’s easy for the reader to tell that the women who wrote each chapter are experts in what they’re writing about. Some of them even slip in firsthand reactions to the events they mention, which gives the reader reassurance that this isn’t just the usual “outside looking in” account of history. For example, when Gioconda Espina discusses the possibility of creating new alliances in Venezuela with other organizations, she is giving a glimpse into her actual experience working with these other groups, which provides a greater level of authenticity.

It was also great to see the focus on what the future might bring. The fact is that this is a very recent history – indeed, a lot of the countries highlighted in this book were in the middle of major changes when the chapters were written, leaving the picture still incomplete. Because of that, it was good to have the writers try to piece the puzzle together.

This book is not perfect, however. I found that the focus on countries with more recent shifts to democracy such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela made for a narrow view of Latin America. With the vast number of Latin American countries, it’s disappointing to only see the book focus on a handful. Brazil and Argentina, for instance, had a chapter dedicated to each country and then another comparing the two, meaning that three out of ten chapters focused only on two countries. It would be interesting to examine the feminist movements in other Latin American countries, particularly more countries in the Caribbean and Central America.

I can see this book being used as a text in college courses about global feminism, Latin America, or emerging democracies around the world. It is an academic text at its core and not meant for light beach reading unless you have a particular interest in this subject matter, as I admittedly do. But that said, the book was surprisingly easy to read and digest, and not at all the boring academic text I expected.

I would be happy to check out another attempt by Jaquette, perhaps providing a follow-up to the countries she has already covered and expanding to other Latin American countries in flux. I am confident she would provide a volume of work as captivating as this, if not more so.

Book Review: All That Work and Still No Boys

2009-12-01T09:45:00.000-05:00

All That Work and Still No Boys
By Kathryn Ma
University of Iowa Press

I suppose I should start by saying that this book is not for those who like conventional storytelling. If, however, you like breaking out of the traditional box, then I would urge you to give this book a try.

In All That Work and Still No Boys, Kathryn Ma writes short stories with one thing in common: they relate back to her theme of the Chinese American experience in California. Each chapter is the story of a person or family, sometimes related to another person or family in the book and sometimes not at all. The stories jump through time and space, sometimes told in the first person and sometimes in the third. But each chapter and each story is a refreshing, unique look at the way different people deal with immigration, culture, and family.

It’s hard to write about what I enjoyed most in this book without going into detail about specific stories. I’ll briefly mention that I loved the grandmother so dedicated to helping her aspiring actress of a granddaughter, and the overachieving student with a school prank gone wrong. With the grandmother, you see pride and dedication almost to a fault. The student, meanwhile, provides an unexpected spin on the stereotype of overachieving Asian student. These are just a couple of my favorites though, because Ma breathed life into each character no matter how short the story. I found myself connecting to some part of almost every story, seeing the weaknesses of the protagonists and sympathizing with the antagonists.

This is normally the point in a review where I would elaborate on what I didn’t like about the book, but there isn’t really much I didn’t like. If I had to offer a criticism, it would be that I find the characters a little under-developed and wish I could read more about all of them. I’d like to know how their stories continue and where they end up.

Admittedly, even though I love reading narratives that jump around and don’t always match up the way these stories do, it was sometimes hard to figure out what stories were actually connected and which were not. I look forward to reading the book again not just to connect the dots, but simply because it was a very enjoyable book to read.

A Yummy Holiday Season

2009-11-25T09:12:00.003-05:00

Ok y'all, it's the holidays now, and that means the pressure is on to top myself in the area of yummy baked goods. Being the dessert addict that I am, the masses are relying on me to give them a knock-out dessert for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I have to make my staple - the crunch top apple pie that I now make for pretty much every holiday and major event. But what else should I make??

Over the past couple of years, I've made: the two pies I mentioned above, red velvet cake (that was so good but so much work, especially the frosting I made from scratch, wtf was I thinking?), and a caramel apple cheesecake (for Xmas last year, remember? that was really only okay). In addition to sweets for the holidays, I've also made a yummy batch of brownies with almonds, and some kick ass cookies.

I need to make at least two desserts for Thanksgiving. I should make three so I can take one to my parents' place, but I don't think I'll have time for that much baking. But I will also need to make at least two for Xmas as well... HELP!

I was thinking of making another cheesecake cuz I freaking love cheesecake and it wasn't very hard to make. Any suggestions?

Hair & Race in D.R.

2009-11-18T10:00:00.002-05:00

I was reading the piece on Guanabee about black women using Dominican salons, and the fact that salon owners who cater to black hair are not too happy about it. I had several reactions to this, so let's begin...

I have to start by saying that in NY, this is not a phenomenon. Almost every black woman I know has at some point in time tried a Dominican salon, and some black women I know only go to Dominican salons. So I was a bit surprised to see such a strong reaction from black hair salon owners, which was basically "their hair is not like our hair, they're ruining your hair!" To which I have to agree with Alex at Guanabee and let out a big fat huh?!

There is as much variety in the texture of Dominican hair as their is in black women's hair. In my own immediate family you've got chemically relaxed hair, curly unmanageable hair, very manageable hair somewhere between wavy and curly, and curly yet manageable hair. In simplest Dominican hair terms: two heads of "good" hair and two heads of "bad" hair.

At any rate, what really struck me from the quotes in this post was the one attempting to explain the politics of good & bad hair in D.R. This person wants us to know that when Dominicans talk about good and bad hair (pelo bueno, pelo malo in espan-y-ole), this is merely a way of explaining how easy it is to deal with the hair, and not at all a commentary on race.

Hmm... well, yes, it is a way of explaining how manageable the hair is, and it's true that the actual race of the person usually has nothing to do with whether or not that person has good hair or bad hair. (In my own family, the two of us with "good" hair are darker than the ones with "bad" hair, for example.) But it's rather naïve to think that there is no history of race in identifying one type of hair as good and the other as bad.

I have to say, though, that any possibility of my taking this person seriously went out the window when I read:

But a person’s race is not so important in the Dominican Republic as it is in the United States; it’s just a feature, just part of your look. Almost every Dominican is a mixture, and almost every Dominican has textured hair.

Um. Not so much. Again, yes almost every Dominican is a mixture (really, it's inevitable). That's why, as I explained above, merely looking at a person will not give you any indication as to what kind of hair they have or what the rest of their family looks like.

But to say that race is not important in D.R.?

I can only guess that this person is either 1) completely uninformed and ignorant to the nuances of Dominican culture or 2) completely in denial about the nuances of Dominican culture.

I often say that Dominicans are some of the most racist people I know. I'm not backing down from that any time soon. Well, except just to clarify a bit. I know several Dominicans who are not racist, are very much aware of the dynamics of race, are well-informed, try their hardest to avoid judgment, etc. But people who grew up in D.R. and have not been pushed to question their perceptions of race are really quite racist. You can't tell them this, of course, because they will swear on the lives of everyone they know that they are not. But we all know they are.

If your family is from a town too close to Haiti, you are suddenly given the cold shoulder. If you are from any island that is not Cuba or P.R., you basically don't exist. And let's hope you're not African American, because then you are likely up to no good.

So yeah, race and racism in D.R. does not work the same way it does in the U.S. Because such a vast majority of Dominicans are mixed in some way, and because of the politics of the island, the dynamics are nothing like the way they are here.

But we can't pretend that because of that racism doesn't exist. There's no way we can ever fix this problem if everybody insists on ignoring it.

Announcement

2009-11-12T16:09:00.002-05:00

Look it's me: ta-daaaaa!

*mini celebratory dance continues*

Take Action: Same Sex Marriage in NY

2009-11-10T10:20:00.004-05:00

Today in NYS, legislators are up in Albany voting on same sex marriage for New York, among other things. Empire State Pride Agenda has set up a cool form to help you identify your state senator, and whether or not that person supports same sex marriage. You also enter your phone number so that they can call you to connect you directly with the office of your state senator.* When you click on the "call now" button, they'll list some talking points for your call, call you at the phone number you provide and connect you. Easy as pie!

So if you live in NY or know somebody who lives in NY, please take action now.

*Please note that while you are required to enter your phone number to see who your state senator is, they do not call you unless you click the "call now" button on the second page. So no worries if you don't want them to call you.

Bookworm Meme Revisited

2009-11-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

Last July, I posted this list of 100 books and marked ones I've read, partially read, or plan on reading. Because I've been trying to read more lately, and I'm just such a bookworm, I decided I'd post it again to see how the list has changed since then. This time, with new editorializing!

1) Bold what you have read
2) Put in italics what you have started to read
3) Put an asterisk next to what you intend to read

**1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (Ok, so I've pretty much abandoned my 25 before 25 list, but I'm working on a 100 in 100 [weeks] list, so maybe I'll put it on that)
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (still have no desire to read this)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (I want to re-read them SO BADLY but I must control myself until I've read all these other books I want to read)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (I had marked this as read, but my new rule is that if I have no recollection of the actual story, I'll demote it to partially read)
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
**9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
**10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa May Alcott (again, no recollection, I just know I read it)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (I've decided I might give this another go)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
**24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
**27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
**29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (this is on my list of classics to read as soon as I finish the Oz series)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (I kind of remember the general storyline of each book, but I'll reread them soon)
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (this has to be one of the most boring books ever, though the last few chapters were suddenly captivating, what's up with that?!)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (I'm still unsure of why this is listed if Chronicles of Narnia is already listed...)
**37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell (I do need to re-read this asap though because my memory of it is slipping)
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert (I read it in high school but didn't like it, so I don't remember it AT ALL, but unlike the others, I will not be re-reading this)
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
**54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (I'm reading this now and should be done in a few days)
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
**60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (I can't wait to see this movie!)
**65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (my memory of this is so gone, that I'm just marking it as need to read)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
**72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
**75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (this is just SO CUTE!)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (again, why is this listed individually?)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
**100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

So my total went from 20 to 16 read now that I've demoted the books I can't remember. But I've got 21 in italics and I'll actually be re-reading some of those at some point in the (hopefully) near future. I think the lesson we can learn from this is: finish what you start. I've been trying to finish unfinishable books lately (which is why it took me damn near four months to read Persuasion), and I'm often pleasantly surprised once I get to the end.

I don't get why some books are so popular though. So far I've been unimpressed by Jane Austen. Most sci-fi type classics are utterly boring to me -- though, 2001: A Space Odyssey is one I can totally get behind.

Ok, promise this won't become a book blog, just wanted to have some bookwormy fun. I actually have a couple of posts I'm working on for later this week, so look out for those. In the meantime, feel free to partake in the bookworm meme. =)

Election Day!

2009-11-03T11:00:00.004-05:00

Okay people (in the U.S.), it's Election Day! I'm hoping that you knew that already and this isn't brand new information. In any case, I hope you get out there and vote and so I'm posting my voting guide from last year:

A few reminders:
-Bring your ID just in case and your voter registration card if you have it.
-If you make it to the poll location before the polls close but are waiting in line, contact your board of elections if they try to turn you away. Laws vary by state, but make sure you cast your vote.
-Keep in mind the voting myths: wearing campaign gear (just cover it up), being arrested for outstanding warrants or tickets (simply not true), losing financial aid (many student voting rights are confusing). Don't let them take away your right to vote!
-Check your ballot (whether electronic, paper, or lever) before finishing, especially because problems with machines already started with early voting.
-If they challenge your eligibility for whatever reason, insist on filling out a provisional ballot.

Most importantly, keep this information handy to report any problems:
-Use the Election Protection hotline by calling 866-OUR-VOTE (or 1-888-Ve-Y-Vota for Spanish speakers).
-Contact your local board of elections, particularly for voter suppression or suspicious activity.

For those of you who can't vote (either because you're not citizens, didn't register on time, or are choosing not to), please considering volunteering your time today as poll workers, or by driving the elderly or disabled to the polls, or by reminding others to vote, etc. It's a great thing for anyone to do.

And for everyone who's volunteering, THANK YOU SO MUCH! You all rock!

You're So LAME!

2009-10-29T10:01:00.004-04:00

I've gotten tired of arguing with people about using the word lame, so here's my new approach:

Person: Oh ha ha blah blah, you're so lame!
Me: *blink and stare in confusion* No I'm not. I have no physical disability that I know of...

So far, people have just looked at me funny and then carried on. I haven't tried it enough to figure out its effectiveness, but it can't possibly be any less effective than I've been so far (which is, not at all effective). I think I might switch up my responses from time to time -- any ideas?

ETA: If you've no idea why this word is a problem, please read.

Reading is Fundamental

2009-10-26T09:55:00.000-04:00

When exhaustion, overworked-ness and sickness meets writer's block, it leads to silence on the blog. I'm only human! What can I do? Well... I can give you an update on what I've been reading lately. Here's a little recap of the books I've read in the last month or so:

The Shining by Stephen King -- I've wanted to read this book for years. It definitely did not disappoint. Have any of you read this? I found it much much creepier than the movie. I also think it's a bit sad that none of the daddy issues storyline is in the movie. Believe it or not, this is the first Stephen King novel I've ever read and now I want to read them all. Also, I can't wait to watch the movie again so I can compare.

All That Work and Still No Boys by Kathryn Ma -- I've got a full review of this coming soon, so for now I'll just say I really liked it.

Feminist Agendas and Democracy in Latin America by Jane S. Jaquette -- Also got a review of this coming soon. I liked it, but it did have some flaws.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry -- Yes, I read a children's book. Whatever, I was sick and grumpy and wanted to read a cute story. Besides, if you're not a kid at heart, you need to check your priorities. That said, the book was awesome! It was so cute and made me laugh and a little teary-eyed at the end. (Although now that my period has arrived, I'm not sure how much of that was the story itself and how much was my PMS, but whatever...)

The Little Book: A Novel by Selden Edwards -- I have mixed feelings about this book. It was fun and a quick & easy read, but some parts were not that great and the repetitiveness did get to me. Has anybody read this book? I had never even heard of it before, but apparently it's a bestseller. It's actually got a lot of feminist undertones sprinkled throughout which completely surprised me. I think I might write a review after I figure out exactly what I liked and disliked about this book.

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell -- I'm still reading this actually, but it's really nice so far. It's not award-winning stuff or anything, but it's funny and I love Julie's writing style and my favorite is every time she says her bleaders (blog readers) need her because I chuckle every time. Our blog readers do need us! It's a life or death situation.

Persuasion by Jane Austen -- Folks who follow me on Twitter or Goodreads know that I was supposed to finish reading this book months ago, but I never did. I got bored reading it so I've been listening to an audiobook version instead and I'm almost halfway through. It's actually much more entertaining that way... of course, that's not saying too much because I'm still rather bored. But we'll see what happens!

I'm reading a couple more books, but haven't read enough of them to form an opinion one way or another. But perhaps I shall update you all in a few weeks.

What are you all reading? Any recommendations? I'm doing a seasonal reading challenge right now, so I'm trying to read lots before the end of the fall. Yes, I'm a nerd like that, and darn proud of it!