March 2011
51 posts
"You do a fantastic job. World's best dad."
I want to take a quick second to talk about fatherhood in the Twilight series (you can file that one under: Sentences I’m Sure We’ve All Uttered at One Point or Another). Charlie Swan is easily the worst father in American literature. He is absent for chapters upon chapters, then arrives in Bella’s thoughts as an impediment to action, or an excuse for her to leave one setting or another; on top of all her supernatural anxieties, you would not believe how much time 18-year-old Bella Swan spends thinking about preparing and serving her father dinner. He has a weird, unpredictable temper. He never seems to leave the couch. AND THEN THIS HAPPENED:
“What’s wrong with her?” Charlie wondered.
“She thinks she broke her hand,” I heard Jacob tell him. […]
“How did she do that?” As my father, I thought Charlie ought to sound a bit less amused and more concerned.
Jacob laughed. “She hit me.”
Charlie laughed, too, and I scowled […]
“Why did she hit you?”
“Because I kissed her,” Jacob said, unashamed.
“Good for you, kid,” Charlie congratulated him.
Meyer’s description of this kiss seems to be going for “romance novel sexy!” but I found it hard not to read it a little closer to “how girls get raped in real life!” Bella says no. Bella tries to pull away, but Jacob’s werewolf hand “[grips] tight around the back of my neck, making escape impossible.” Bella tries to push away his face and Jacob becomes “aggravated” and forces her mouth open. Bella plays dead until it’s over: “Acting on instinct, I let my hands drop to my side, and shut down.” Bella punches the guy that just forced himself on her. And then her police officer father laughs at her. We, the audience, are invited to laugh along—the broken hand becomes additional evidence of Bella’s clumsiness, instead of a souvenir from that time she tried to defend herself from unwanted sexual contact.
Only Edward Cullen—the guy that snuck into her room and watched her sleep—cuts through everybody else’s rape apologia to talk some sense: “You might want to wait for her to say [that she wants to be kissed], rather than trust your interpretation of body language…” And thus I stay steadfastly on Team Edward, or as I like to call it, Team Moderately-Less-Rapey.
sonofabitch I didn’t know this series was so… backward. I wouldn’t be able to get through it — thanks to Katie Coyle for the book reports.
“[Glenn] Beck and Wall Street are terrified that regular Americans will begin to challenge the double standard that allows one set of rules for the rich and another for the rest of us. They are petrified of the growing understanding, among people of diverse political backgrounds, that our country isn’t broke; that the tiny elite at the top has manipulated the economic crisis it created to grow even richer and more powerful while the rest of us suffer the consequences; and that Wall Street and corporations, sitting on record profits, are holding the country hostage, essentially threatening a capital strike if they don’t get further tax and regulatory breaks.”
DAMN it. this is really bringing me down. the fuck we gonna wake up and do something about it?
Brand Anna →
online.wsj.com
She’s been editor of the American edition of Vogue since 1988, and by now it has become commonplace to call her the most powerful woman in fashion. But her influence is much broader than it appears in her fun-house-mirror caricature: a brittle despot in round Chanel sunglasses who rules the world around her through impeccable taste, terror and sarcasm. It is hidden within an intricate web of powerful friends and allies, many of whom she’s worked with for decades. That web spans the U.S., out to Hollywood, down to Washington, and across both oceans. Imperious as she may appear, she’s really more impresario than empress.
reblogging to read later.
“Every time a Tomahawk cruise missile blows up a building in Libya (and everyone inside it), war-profiteer Raytheon makes $1.5 million.”
—Robert Greenwald (via azspot)
The Heroic Path (and What It Isn't) →
patheos.com
The basis of the heroic path lies in four simple ideas.
First, Everyone has a purpose in life. There is something you’re good at, that you love doing — something that gives your life meaning. Know what that thing is, and pursue it.
Second, If you don’t know your purpose, you should travel. Travel changes the mind and it also introduces you to exponentially more possibilities than staying put. If you don’t yet have a passion in life, go on a journey. You’ll find it.
Third: Ideals, not rules. Rules are a poor substitute for a moral compass, and they don’t require critical thinking. So choose your values, your ideals. Maybe Respect? Bravery? Peace? You get to choose, but choose. And then stick by them.
Fourth, You can do amazing things. Has anyone ever said something that stopped you in your tracks? Have you ever seen a master at work — a musician, a martial artist, anything — doing something better or faster than you thought possible? It’s almost supernatural. But you can cultivate those amazing moments. You can become so good at something that it’s uncanny.
(I like this)
the NYT retired race horses article...
The very idea of horses starving makes me cringe and I couldn’t read the article. I did scan it, though, looking for charities to send a donation to. I don’t want to send it to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation cuz it sounds mis-managed or worse? I’d like to send a small donation directly to a farm that can’t feed the horses.
Anyone have info?
“It has been difficult to feel financially independent when [my] spouse’s parents hold tight control over [our] children’s inheritance.”
we all throw up obstacles, eh? maybe I could put up some of mine and other people could point out the ridiculousness of them.
http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2011/03/09/dont-envy-the-super-rich-they-are-miserable
“Newt [Gingrich] knows that before he can through his giant hat into the ring, he has to explain his past positions. Specifically why those positions were so often on top of women who weren’t his wife. With this patriotic defense of his inappropriate behavior, all Newt’s saying is he really wants to screw America. And if we elect him president, he’ll keep that promise.”
—Stephen Colbert (via azspot)
