Hope Springs Eternal

So Hanna Rosin's article last year called "The End of Men" was just this totally talked about piece. And it poses some interesting theories, which I found myself revisiting when I read this interview with her.
I'd like to start off by saying that I find no use for men. By this I mean I find no use for the stereotypical bro/vague jerk that most men are. The only men I like are men who act like women and certain flavors of gentlemen. Otherwise, they just a waste. One of the problems I have with this article is its broad category of men. Even my categories are too broad for generalization, so this one is too.
At one point in the article, there's discussion of how men are nowhere near as successful as women, but there still people's boyfriends. And I find this troublesome because I don't want a deadbeat, and frankly, I don't think that should be heterosexual women's one option: someone useless. I'd rather be alone. I'd rather be with someone with goals, even if those goals exist outside of a capitalist framework of valuable work.
I also dislike the assumption that men are somehow going to have less cultural or political power just because they're losing other power. I suspect that male-centrism will probably hold on pretty tight, and there will unfortunately be plenty of women who, with false conscienceness, will let them. And you know, just because women are making money doesn't mean they are controlling it. Women's labor has been more prevalent for a much longer time than Rosin is talking about, but it hasn't been paid. Also, thinking of it within a framework of capitalism is misleading anyway, since everyone within a capitalist system is inherently oppressed.

Sickish

I was planning on going to a picnic, but I just sort of fell apart as I was trying to get ready, so I laid down in my bed and decided to just forget about it. I feel bad about this, because I said I was coming and because I don't really think I deserved an invitation in the first place, but I had this massive headache. I don't get headaches much, but in the last week I've had them every day.
My Mom came in to check on me because she remembered my plans. (I wish she didn't, honestly.) And I told her I didn't feel well. My Dad stopped in to tell me he was going out to get some sandwiches for my Mom and her friend (who was visiting) and would I like something. And I asked for one too, in the hopes that some food would make me feel better.
When my Dad came back I went to the kitchen to eat, wearing my sunglasses. I still had a headache and light was really bothering me, and my Mom likes it to be super sunny around the house all the time, which would be fine, except in situations like this. My Mom's friend thought the sunglasses were hilarious. I was too tired to get offended by this or by my Mom's insistence to talk politics, even though I've spent about three years telling her I don't want to hear her uneducated opinions or watch her political shows.
The medication in the house appears to be migratory, because every time I need it (which is once every six months, so, not often), it is somewhere else. So I had to ask. Finally, having found it, my Mom felt my head and thought maybe I had a fever. I hadn't even bothered with thought beyond the basic thoughts of how soon I could go back to bed, which I promptly did.
I'm feeling much better now.

Atari Teenage Riot

This afternoon I discovered a new band called Atari Teenage Riot.  It combines the anger and politics of punk with techno beats.   

After I watched this video, I was totally intrigued.

I really love this song "Revolutionary Action." I love the screaming. I love the symbolism of so many of the workers losing their faces.

There's something much more metal about this song, espeically the intro, though they seem to be doing their classic punk screaming and techno beats.

When it comes to "Dead For Me," there's something about the bass guitar that reminds me of Good Charlotte. (Good Lord, I haven't listened to that band in ages.) I really like that there's a woman in this band. One of the many critiques of punk rock was what a men's scene it is, and so even having one girl around is better than nothing. I don't know who did one of the girl's makeup, but I love the huge almost a black lightning streak going through her face.
It's like the politics of The Matrix was transferred into a soundtrack.

Weinergate

Is anyone watching this whole Weinergate thing?  It's really annoying me. 
What angers me is that Weiner behaves in a way that obviously makes me him look guilty.  He won't contact the police because he asserts it's not a big deal.  I would be much more likely to trust the law (as much as I am pained to admit it) than some firm he himself as hired.  He won't answer any questions that would require him to give a real answer.
That poor woman.  It's enough to make me avoid politics on the interwebs. 

We Are All Politicians Now

There's this article discussing Jon Stewart and his recent may-or-may-not-be activism on his show.  I wrote back in July how disappointed I was in Stewart and the Daily Show's handling of Jezebel's pointed but fair questions about gender on the show.  I've been watching the show on and off ever since, but I've been increasingly disappointed in how conservative and self-serving he is or has become. (I say or because I'm uncertain if this has always been true or if I am only now aware of it.)  In the last two months or so I haven't watched the show at all, in part because I don't have access to a television but also because I've felt no desire for his show.  A couple days ago one of my friends asked me if I had been watching recently and I couldn't even say I missed the show; I generally don't think about it anymore, despite being a religious watcher for nearly ten years. 

Everything we do is political, even if not overtly.  Everything we do is influenced by politically motivated, and Stewart is the same.  This isn't to say he's different from other comedians; they too are political through the choices they make in terms of the jokes they make, how the present themselves, etc.  Stewart can protest his politician status all he wants, but we're all negotiating through politics.  Sure, a lot of work is about being critical about politics, but that is in itself critical, because he's chosen to make decisions on what his show does or doesn't cover, how it is covered, etc.   

War's "The World is a Ghetto"

What caught me about this song was the title.  You don't hear those kinds of pronouncements, especially ones that use words like ghetto, that has connotations of Otherness and oppression.  As I was listening to the song, the political was obvious: "Don't you know, that it's true, for me and for you, the world is a ghetto?" 
I was reading a book today that dealt with critical race theory, and one of the comments was that those of African descent didn't really have a homeland.  This song is obviously related to that sentiment.
I love good political music.  I wish more people listened to stuff overtly political.   

Hitler Stashing

So, everyone knows that a couple of days ago there was the Rally to Restore Sanity.  I didn't get to go, and I'm really jealous, because my best friend made it out there.  (Why oh why didn't I beg her to take me too!?!)  Anyway, short story short, one of the things that came out of the event was that there were epic posters at this thing.  (Apparently.  Like I said, I didn't make it.)  Someone made a little slide show of them over here, which I think is worth seeing.  I love "I can see reason from my house" poster and I like all the critiques of the Hitler stashing that's been going on.  (Can we say that now as a verb people?  Hitler stashing?  As in: to put a Hitler stash on someone as a way of making an over the top, insane political statement that upon further reflection doesn't make sense?  Thanks.) 

Optometrist

Like most people, I hate going to see doctor's.  But I recently realized what I really hate about going: socializing. 
This seems like a strange thing to say, since I'm relatively social.  But those people I socialize with are friends.  I don't want to talk to my doctor's about stuff.  When they ask "How are you?" I want that to be a cue to assert my overall health, not as a chance to catch up on my family, my career and the drama with that one friend. 
With this in mind I went to see my optometrist.  I sat in the waiting room, reading one of those celebrity magazines that I only look at when there's not something more sophisticated. 
I went in with the assistant, an older woman.  We tested various small things with my eyes.  There's a test where you're suppose to tell if certain circles are jumping out at you while wearing 3-D glasses.  As the years have gone on, I have failed more and more of that test. 
Failing eye tests are nothing new.  When I was thirteen, I had to take an eye test while at school.  I failed the first time, with my glasses on.  So they called me in a second time, and I failed a second time, again, with my glasses on.  I tried to explain to the lady running the test I had really poor eyes, and I think she believed me, but I was really embarrassed by this.  I didn't fail anything at that age. 
We kept going through tests, and, even with my glasses on, it's amazing how little I can see.  I think if I had lived before glasses, I would have been confined. 
The doctor came in and I braced myself.  This doctor really likes to socialize.  It's not that I can't be polite, or that I can't speak back, but this particular doctor likes to talk about politics, and we do not share the same beliefs.  Several years ago, he complained to me about a apparently gay English professor who tried to pick him up.  I have gay friends, and I know there's almost no way this story is true.  LBGT people are scared to pick people up if they don't know their sexuality, especially if they're doing so in an "unsafe" place.  (They're more likely to pick up in a gay club or bar, but there it's expected and assumed you're okay with that.)  I didn't really tell him I disagree, but I don't really want to talk to him about politics.  I only rely on him over my eyes because my Mom insists, but the truth is I'd rather try someone else. 
We had a long discussion about surgery.  We've been considering surgery for my eyes for what seems like ever now.  At least high school, though I think it goes back farther than that.  (I was first told that I could use contacts at ten.  I never have because something about putting shards of plastic in your eye strikes me as gross.  I can't even look at someone who is putting in or taking out their contacts.  It's one of the few things I find unsightly.)
Anyway, the surgery option is always on the table, though it's unclear if I qualify.  I would need to get checked. 
Thankfully, there was none of that.  Instead, he went through the usual tests, checking my eyes with those various glasses.  When he decided on something, we moved on to making sure I didn't have things like glaucoma.
I hate those eye drops that you get.  They always make my eyes sting and they give me a headache.  I don't even try to do anything after an eye exam, because I know it's futile to try. 

Frances E.W. Harper

So, I'm slowly working through a thesis right now. I like what I'm writing about a lot (political female poets from the 19th century), but I feel very sluggish about it. I hate sitting in my room writing papers. It's been really bothering me. I would much rather grab some reading I have to do for a class and read in another part of the building. And I hate sitting anywhere for long periods of time, so I find I'm moving myself a lot. Basically, I'm having trouble getting much done.
One of the poets I'm writing about is Frances E.W. Harper, who is most famous for her poem "Bury Me in a Free Land." The first time I ran across her poem, I was shocked by how good it was, particularly the imagery. When I discovered she was a free African-American woman writing during and after the Civil War, well, I knew I had stumbled across something important.
I want to write a poem celebrating her, but every time I sit down to write that, it just comes out a mess. How did these old school poets write things like elegies?