Things That Are Awesome: German Language School Commercial
I just think this is hilarious:
Though I don't quite understand how people who don't speak English will understand the commercial...
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Evolution Education
There's a great article over at the New York Times about a teacher in Florida making the switch to teaching evolution.
A Teacher on the Front Line as Faith and Science Clash
I remember being really shocked when I realized that I had never been taught evolution in school. I'd learned it from my parents and my brother (now a biologist), but I had never heard the words uttered in science class. Hopefully now that the standards are changing, that won't happen any more.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Happy Anniversary
Happy 88th Anniversary to the 19th Amendment!
Today, 88 years ago, the Secretary of State certified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote.
Sometimes I find it hard to believe it was so recent. Other days, it feels like barely any time has passed.
Thank you to our suffragette sisters for starting the fight, and thanks to all our sisters still fighting it today.
(And H/T to My Improvisational Life for the reminder.)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Holy Animal Stripclub, Batman!
Orangina, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that this ad is the perfect way to launch their orange-flavored soda-thing in the UK.
Warning: this is pretty weird. Also, possibly NSFW.
OH MY GOD
Okay, ignoring the deeply weird implications of advertising to men with pole-dancing animals, I have just two things to say:
(1) Male peacocks are the ones with the brightly-plumaged tails. I still trying to figure out what that's supposed to mean.
and
(2) HOLY CRAP THAT POLE-DANCING FLAMINGO WAS TERRIFYING
Monday, August 25, 2008
Things That Are Awesome: Sir Nils Olav
I'm late to the party, but how is this not awesome?
Penguin Granted Norwegian Knighthood
Thursday, August 21, 2008
My Hand is Up
Over at Shapely Prose, they're having a harassment thread. It's in response to a troll who doesn't understand feminism, and who thinks men aren't as critical of women's appearances as women are. So the bloggers called for counterexamples.
Hands up if a man has “said something cruel or sexist about your appearance.” Hands up if you’ve witnessed a man saying something cruel or sexist about another woman’s appearance.
Now it's expanded to examples of sexism and misogyny in women's lives -- street harassment, sexism at work, rape and date rape and stalking and murder.
There are over 400 comments and counting.
It's horrifying. You get angry and sad by turns reading it. I realized that despite the dozens of experiences burned into my brain that I could add to the thread, hurtful words or unwanted touches that I have never forgotten, I am one of the lucky ones.
To everyone who doesn't think sexism still exists, who doesn't think women live with sexual violence or threats or harassment every goddamn day of their lives, GO READ THIS THREAD.
My hand is up.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Things That Are Awesome: Cake Wrecks
Quick link:
Cake Wrecks: Your source on the Web for hilarious bakery disasters.
Some highlights:
the Hall of Infamous Cakes
Cakes That Didn't Have Spell-Check
The Poop Cake
The Fireman and his "Hose"
And my personal favorite, the OH MY GOD IT'S LOOKING AT ME Baby Cake
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Women as Objects Sweepstakes Winner
I'm going to hope this is kidding:
"Playboy TV's Gadget or the Girl will make contestants choose between a weekend getaway with a girl of their choice or a surprise high-tech toy."
Reader Contest time! What's the worst thing about this garbage?
(a) the outright statement that women are objects/status symbols to be acquired
(b) the implication of prostitution
(c) the setup of the women as gold-digging temptresses who are rewarded if they seduce/trick the man into picking them
(d) the idea that men are such giant idiots that this show would appeal to them
(e) all of the goddamn above
Winner gets a subscription to "Oh For Crap's Sake" Weekly.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Sexism, Strength, and Dominance in Disney
I think this is pretty interesting:
The vid makes some interesting points, particularly since most analysis of Disney films I've seen has focused on the racial issues and the "Princess Culture", not the images of the male heroes.
However, it has some serious flaws, particularly in the choice of clips. The clips of Mulan were excellent, since that's the film most often held up for its feminist message, but the ones of Beauty and the Beast are fairly pointless -- yes, Gaston is a big macho d-bag, but he's the bad guy, and his hypermasculinity is often held up as absurd or an outward sign of his personality flaws. The hero of the movie, the Beast, is actually fairly gentle and conflict-avoiding (witness his scene with the birds in the snow). I think you could write a fairly interesting essay about the Beast himself, and how his hyper-aggressive appearance may be used to offset his gentleness to preserve the requisite amount of masculinity.
But I love this for pointing out how many Disney movies end with a battle between two men, often over a woman.
And it's a very real issue -- the image of the square-jawed, barrel-chested, savior-prince may be just as damaging as the image of the slim, white-skinned, delicate princess-in-distress, to both boys and girls.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Sean Tevis for Secretary of Awesome
This dude is running for State Representative in Kansas.
His campaign site is goddamn hilarious.
I'm trying not to be temped to send campaign donations on that basis of (a) that guy is funny, (b) hey, he's an internet person! Yay internet people!, and (c) he likes XKCD! God, if only all our politicians were geeks...
Anyhow, go check him out. Maybe drop a dime if he seems like your kind of candidate. I'm going to see if I can find out more about his policies, but he supports Internet freedom and evolution in schools (doubly important in Kansas), so that's at least two points in his favor.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Pop Culture Matters
I'm late to post this, but I just want to say a huge honking DITTO to Dan in this PhD comic:
Pop culture is INCREDIBLY powerful in creating the worldview of people who consume it. And not just to children -- adults as well have their ideas, preconceptions, and prejudices informed and reinforced by the images they see around them everyday. One great example is the plethora of crime shows, and how they have changed how actual criminals behave.
This is why I get so angry when people defend something as "just a TV show" or "just a movie." It's not. It's art, and art is powerful.
Basically, this is a long-winded justification for the fact that I'm probably going to talk a lot about pop culture -- sexism, racism, or just bad writing -- because I think it's just as important as talking about politics. Also, way more entertaining.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Things That Are Awesome: How to Tell People They Sound Racist
At some point, I hope to actually blog more than once in a blue moon.
But first, a funny and insightful vid about talking about racism.
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