Girly Phones

• 
  Found this on Feministing. Samsung seems to think that women will be more interested in stupid features and how the phone looks that in cell plans. The features?
  
  
  A shopping list
• A favorite fragrance list
• Biorhythm calculator
• Conception Calendar

On the Samsung site, they have a quiz to decide what kind of cell phone you should buy. I guess I'm not girly enough.

This is just another example of the patriarchy telling women what they should be. Why do I say that?

Women, should be interested in shopping (see, not practical, doesn't want business tools. So interested in shopping, she needs a man to provide for her.) A favorite fragrance list (do I even have to comment on how stupid this is?) Bio rhythm? (Women are so emotional and have such mood swings. Also, women are stupid enough to believe anything. And naive enough to be happy if says to be happy). Conception Calendar (We all know women are here to produce heirs for the patriarchy).

Even scarier...When I was looking at Samsung's site, my daughter said, "Oh that's so cute, are you going to get it for me?"

Then, the neighbors heard me scream like a banshee.

Buttercup on the Beach

We arrived at my sister's house after a 3 hour drive. Ocean City, NJ looked like a ghost town. I barely had my coat off and a drink in my hand, when my sister and brother-in-law decided it would be a good time to take both dogs (mine, Buttercup and theirs, Buster) to the beach.

Buttercup had never been to the beach, so I wasn't about to miss her reaction.



I wasn't disappointed. I wish I had brought the video instead of the camera. When she saw the sand, she began to jump and run around. She was trying to smell everything at once, sand, shells, dune grass, whatever. Then she started digging.

If I was writing her dialog it would have been "What is this? No one told me about this white dirt. The more I dig, the more there is! What is this place? This is something new!"

Then she saw the seagulls and the ocean. She charge a flock of gulls, almost pulling my sister off of her feet. She ran down to the ocean, but stopped before getting wet. Barking and howling at people, birds and a surfer in a wet suit. I don't know if it was the surfer or the surf board, but she didn't like this one bit.

Meanwhile, her cousin, Buster, who is an island dog, looked on with bored curiostiy at what the beagle was doing. I'm sure he was thinking Shoebee!




The beach is wonderful this time of year. When I lived in Ocean City (my first 13 years) I always enjoyed autumn more than summer. When the cool weather came, the beach belonged to the islanders again.

My sister and brother-in-law with the dogs.

White Thanksgiving

It was almost a white Thanksgiving for those of us who live in Pa.

As you can see, Buttercup is enjoying the snow. I, of course, was upset there wasn't more, because you can still see all the damn leaves that I have to rake.


The light dusting of snow (what we call nuisance snow) was accompanied by some ice. But that did not stop us from making out Thanksgiving journey to New Jersey.

Laura Bush sees hubby's approval numbers

Not much else I can say. Thanks to Dependable Renegade

I really hate TV

They canceled Threshold.

I am bummed beyond belief.

I don't watch too much TV, so when they take off one of the maybe 4 or 5 shows I watch, I get bummed.

Why I don't blog more often

I caught the kitty on my laptop this morning. She won't let me use it. Also, she has decided to reset the BIOS settings, luckily I stopped her before she changed the password.

They could have waxed

A local radio station had the following billboard draw criticism. Both feminists and religious types thought this was out of line. So they replaced it with one featuring their two popular "Morning Guys", The Bear Man and Keith.

I don't know if this is better or worse.

Patriots?

This is from Dictionaopolis in Digitopoils.

I always thought this, but to see it all lined up like this, I just hope I can remember this the next time the Republicans decide to question a decorated veteren's patriotism.

Someone at Daily Kos has put together a list that...well, this is something I think we all knew, but it almost takes your breath away to see it all laid out in black-and-white. The service record of prominent Democrats vs. that of Republicans:


Democrats:

* Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
* David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
* Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
* Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
* Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam.
* Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
* John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V,Purple Hearts.
* Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea.
* Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam. Paraplegic from war injuries. Served in Congress.
* Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-53.
* Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
* Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
* Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII; Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons.
* Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCs, Bronze Stars,and Soldier's Medal.
* Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver Star and Legion of Merit.
* Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
* Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in Vietnam; Bronze Star with Combat V.
* Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
* Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
* Chuck Robb: Vietnam
* Howell Heflin: Silver Star
* George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
* Bill Clinton: Did not serve. Student deferments. Entered draft but received #311.
* Jimmy Carter: Seven years in the Navy.
* Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
* John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and AirMedal with 18 Clusters.
* Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Saved by Raoul Wallenberg.

Republicans

* Dick Cheney: did not serve. Several deferments, the last by marriage.
* Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
* Tom Delay: did not serve.
* Roy Blunt: did not serve.
* Bill Frist: did not serve.
* Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
* Rick Santorum: did not serve.
* Trent Lott: did not serve.
* John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to teach business.
* Jeb Bush: did not serve.
* Karl Rove: did not serve.
* Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." (The man who attacked Max Cleland's patriotism.)
* Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
* Vin Weber: did not serve.
* Richard Perle: did not serve.
* Douglas Feith: did not serve.
* Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
* Richard Shelby: did not serve.
* Jon! Kyl: did not serve.
* Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
* Christopher Cox: did not serve.
* Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
* Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as flight instructor.
* George W. Bush: failed to complete his six-year National Guard; failed to show up
* B-1 Bob Dornan: enlisted after fighting was over in Korea.
* Phil Gramm: did not serve.
* John McCain: Vietnam POW, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.
* Dana Rohrabacher: did not serve.
* John M. McHugh: did not serve.
* JC Watts: did not serve.
* Jack Kemp: did not serve. "Knee problem, " although continued in NFL for 8 years as quarterback.
* Dan Quayle: Journalism unit of the Indiana National Guard.
* Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
* George Pataki: did not serve.
* Spencer Abraham: did not serve.
* John Engler: did not serve.
* Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
* Arnold Schwarzenegger: AWOL from Austrian army base.

Pundits & Preachers

* Sean Hannity: did not serve.
* Rush Limbaugh: did not serve
* Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
* Michael Savage: did not serve.
* George Will: did not serve.
* Chris Matthews: did not serve.
* Paul Gigot: did not serve.
* Bill Bennett: did not serve.
* Pat Buchanan: did not serve.
* John Wayne: did not serve.
* Bill Kristol: did not serve.
* Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
* Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
* Clarence Thomas: did not serve.
* Ralph Reed: did not serve.
* Michael Medved: did not serve.

I think that list speaks for itself.

This is my movie?

Another one!

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Black Comedy

In your life, things are so twisted that you just have to laugh. You may end up insane, but you'll have fun on the way to the asylum. Your best movie matches: Being John Malkovich, The Royal Tenenbaums, American Psycho

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

This is me?

Thanks to Dictionopolis in Digitopolis for this. If I have to be a Science Fiction character, she is as good as any.

This is going onto my Christmas list!

Yes, we still celebrate Christmas in my house. And this is what I want! Thanks to Tennessee Guerilla Woman for the tip!

Is this really what we wanted?

On Feministe blog, there is an interesting rebuttal to an article from The Washington Post.

Patricia Dalton, in the Post article, makes an important point:

Women once complained about being reduced to sex objects. Now, their daughters are volunteering to be sex objects.

She then goes on to blame feminists, the pill and MTV. Ok, that is nonsense and Jill at Feministe quite properly takes Ms. Dalton to task on her ridiculous assumptions. I agree with Jill, and won't repeat her comments here. You can read them yourself at Feministe from the above link.

Yet no one seems to be addressing what I think is the important point: Why are our young girls/teens dressing like eye candy? Why do they want to? And when you discuss it with them, why do they seem to need to?

I want to repeat this. They are not dressed like sluts or whores. They are dressed as decorations. They are objectifying themselves as much as the bikini girls in a pin up calendar.

My observations have no links, because these come from a completely non-scientific study of my daughter and her friends.

I KNOW my daughter was raised as a feminist. So why does she feel the need to show off her body when any teenaged male is near?

She will tell you that sexual stereotyping (as well as any stereotyping) is wrong. She is self confident and intelligent and believes her gender is not an obstacle to success.

Then as soon as a "cute boy" (her words) is near, she becomes the stereotype. When questioned, she and her friends become defensive. I think they know they are wrong, that their behavior is a contradiction to what they believe. If I remember my college psych class, this was called cognitive dissidence. Please, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

This all echos what I felt as a young adult. This was back in the mid 70's and I really believed that no boy would be interested in me if I didn't show off my body. Why else would they bother?

So what is the answer? Is this a normal phase that girls go through when their bodies change so much, so fast? When they are desperate for approval from boys?

I don't think so. I think, as feminists, we lost the sexual revolution. Nothing has changed since I was a teen, when it comes to sex. We need to stand up and say, I am not eye candy. I am not here as a decoration.

As adults, we need to show our girls that it is important to demand respect. Do not allow the media to control what we are.

I imagine people are rolling their eyes at that, saying, "You can't change teenagers." But I disagree. My daughter will argue with me that I don't know anything, then I overhear her repeating exactly what I said to her friends. Of course, it is presented as her own idea. Kids do listen, they just can't let their parents know they do.

I can't seem to leave this one alone

Rick "I'm running-away-from-W" Santorum. I can't leave this guy alone. I don't mind it when people are assholes, that is everyone's right. But to be an hypocritical asshole, or a disloyal asshole, or a pandering asshole, that's when I can't tolerate them.

I'm serious. I think everyone in this country has a right to be an asshole. But our fine Senator has crossed the line.

From Bring it On:

Santorum circa 2002:

"intelligent design is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes."

Santorum circa 2005:

"I'm not comfortable with intelligent design being taught in the science classroom."

And don't forget that Santorum backed the Dover School Board members that were ousted in elections a couple of weeks ago. What a fucking schmuck!

It may seem like I'm picking on poor Rick, but I do take his blathering personally. As a resident of Pennsylvania, I consider him to be an embarrassment.

Blogs that I like to read

If you look at my blog role, you'll see that I read many, many blogs. It's OK, because some of those people only post once every 2 weeks. Others post a couple time a day.

So let me give a shout out to several blogs that I enjoy.

A Writer's Life--Lee Goldberg's blog. It covers writing, novels, publishing, television and just general life stuff. I like Lee's style. He is a successful writer (one of my life goals) and he is easy to read, while he shares his insights.

Bitch PhD--Feminist blog. Fun, literate and interesting.

Love America, Hate Bush--I wish I had thought of that title!

Miserable Annals of the Earth--This blog is written by someone who calls himself Highlander. This is a personal blog, and I haven't been able to put my finger on why I enjoy it. It seems to have an almost familiar feel to it. He is negative and takes both his handle and blog title from movies (2 things that I tend not to like). But I am enjoying his blog.

President Bush: good news/bad news

Good news for George W Bush. Congress is acting in a bi-partisan manner.

Bad news: It's against Bush and his Iraqi war.

I DO get a perverse pleasure from these news articles.

The President has a hissy

Yesterday, President Bush was here in PA, at Tobyhanna. At first glance, I was really amused. Sen Rick Santorum, the senator liberals love to hate, and who I feel is a personal embarrassment, was not with Bush. He was at a Veterans Day event in Philadelphia. Santorum's people keep saying it was a scheduling problem, but I have my doubts. I believed the Senator is trying to distance himself from Bush. Then, as if to confirm that suspicion, Santorum said that the White House shares the blame with the media for problems in Iraq.

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., took a rare swing Friday at President Bush, saying the war in Iraq has been less than optimal and that some blame for that lies with the White House.

Now that kind of in fighting between Republicans usually makes me smile. But our President decided to have a hissy at the Veterans day event he attended.

President Bush used Veterans Day to strike back at critics of the war in Iraq. He told an audience of veterans and military workers in Pennsylvania that his political rivals are sending the wrong message to troops -- and the enemy -- by questioning the rationale for the war

I feel his comments were completely uncalled for at a Veteran's Day celebration. Politics has not place at an event to honor our veterans. And definitely not the politics of fear. He sounded mean and petulant. The worst part is:

In his speech, Bush asserted that Democrats as well as Republicans believed before the invasion in 2003 that former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein possessed banned weapons, a conclusion that was shared by the United Nations, he said. He pushed back against any implication that his administration had deliberately distorted the available intelligence and said the resolution authorizing the use of force had been supported by more than 100 Democrats in the House and Senate based on the same information available to the White House.

Let's get real. All of us who believed in the WMDs did so in a large part because of what the White House said. So because we believed they were truthful then, we aren't allowed to believe them to be liars now?

Then he said:

These baseless attacks send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America's will.

As our troops fight a ruthless enemy determined to destroy our way of life, they deserve to know that their elected leaders who voted to send them to war continue to stand behind them.

I think our soldiers deserve to know that their elected officials are making certain that the soldiers were not sent to war on false pretenses.

Happy Days, here in PA

It is a brisk 36 degrees. I love this weather! I just came in from walking the dog, and my head is so clear. For whatever reason, colder weather seems to diminish my migranes.

Buttercup likes this weather too!

This election has also brought some happiness. The people of Dover, PA booted out the pro-Intelligent Design school board, and Pat Robertson has, once again, made an ass out of himself. That always brings a smile to my face.

Across the river, in NJ (my birth state...yeah...I'm a Jersey Girl), Corzine (Dem) whipped Forester (Rep). I think the most telling ad was where Forester was shown to be in line with Bush, then Forester reponded saying, No...I'm not with Bush.

Some days it doesn't take much to make me happy.

Migraine time!

Thank God(dess) for drugs and perscription plans.

I have had intermitant migraines for the past 3 days. I don't know if it is the same headache continuing to come back or new ones each time. I am happy that the imetrex I take usually kills the migraine for 4-6 hours, instead of the 1/2 hour of relief I previously experienced. Unfortunately, I'm drained of all energy. I'm not sure if it is the migraine or the meds, but I definitely need a nap.

People frequently speak of having migraines, but I'm not talking about a bad headache. I'm talking about lying on the floor crying in pain. Nausea that resembles seasickness. The feeling that my skull has become too small for my brain, and my brain will soon leak out of my skull. That any light is going to burn through my eyes to the back of my head. That my eyes will soon pop out of their sockets.

I don't want to be a "headache snob", but when someone tells me of their migraines and how a cup of tea (or chicken soup or whatever) relieves it, I want to scream. Of course, screaming makes the headache worse, because all noises sound amplified and distorted.

It's like comparing a blackhead to skin cancer.

Ok, rant is over. I feel better to have vented, or maybe the drugs just took effect.

More on Alito

From MoJo Blog:

In 2002, Judge Samuel L. Alito Jr., who owned $390,000 in Vanguard mutual funds, ruled in favor of Vanguard in a case involving a Massachusetts woman who was trying to regain the assets of her late husband's IRA's. The funds were frozen by Vanguard following a court ruling in favor of the husband's business partner.

The woman, Shantee Maharaj, requested Alito's financial disclosure forms after he ruled against her appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, and it was then that she discovered Alito's ownership of Vanguard funds. It turns out that in 1990, when Alita was seeking Senate approval for his judgeship on the appeals court, he told members of the Senate that he would recuse himself from any cases involving Vanguard. However, when Maharaj tried to have him removed from her case, Alito argued that he was not required to recuse himself.

In 2004, Alito said that his holdings did not constitute a conflict of interest because his investments were in mutual funds, making him an investor in Vanguard, not an owner. Federal judicial ethics rules permit judges to rule on cases involving some mutual funds in which they have a stake, but not those in which shares comprise ownership. The Vanguard Fund describes itself as owned by the ''fund's shareholders."

Seems that it just keeps getting worse and worse.

Please let this work!

I'll have to call the helpdesk. This button isn't working.






Thanks to Bring it On for this.

Alito

The Alito nomination has been done to death in the blogsphere, but I can't help jumping on the band wagon.

At Bitch PhD, Alito's record is delineated for anyone who doesn't know what this man's appointment means to women.

1. He opposed Americans' ability to sue state employers for violating the Family & Medical Leave Act. Work for state government? Tough shit, no unpaid leave for you if you have a baby or your husband gets cancer.

2. He argued that Congress couldn't restrict concealed weapons in school zones. That's right; your kids' right to be safe from gunplay in the schoolyard is less important than the right of 12th graders to carry concealed firearms into school. He also argued that Congress doesn't have the right to regulate ownership of machine guns under the Interstate Commerce Act; apparently he believes that machine guns don't cross borders, people carrying machine guns cross borders.

3. He also struck down a law prohibiting alcohol advertisements in student newspapers; made it harder for students to have their student loans forgiven if they filed for bankruptcy; and struck down a school board policy that allowed race to be used as a consideration in decisions about laying off employees--that is, the policy gave preferential treatment to minorities on the grounds that students of color needed role models. (Sorry, link is from the Chronicle of Higher Ed., you'll need a password.)

4. As everyone and their 10-year old knows by now, he wrote a dissent arguing that it's perfect constitutional to strip search a 10-year old girl if you have a search warrant for an adult man.

5. He reversed a decision that found that a school regulation against “verbal or physical conduct based on one's actual or perceived race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other personal characteristics, and which has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with a student's educational performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment" was constitutional. That is, schools can't have a rule prohibiting students from calling each other "fag," "cunt," "dirty Jew," "gook," and so forth to such a degree that the bullied kid is afraid to go to school.

6. He argued that it's perfectly constitutional for racists to discriminate if, in keeping with their racist beliefs, they think that the "best" candidate for a job is, by definition, a white candidate.

7. He dissented from majority in two cases concerning immigrant rights, offering extremist arguments that ignored substantial precedent:
in Dia v. Ashcroft, 353 F.3d 228 (3d Cir. 2003), he dissented from a ruling that an immigration judge should reconsider an immigrant's claim that he would be persecuted if returned to his home country; the majority specifically noted that Alito's dissent would effectively eliminate the requirement of substantial evidence in such cases in a way that "guts the statutory standard" and "ignores our precedent." Id. at 251 n.22. In Ki Se Lee v. Ashcroft, 368 F.3d 218 (3d Cir.2004), he argued in dissent that an immigrant's filing of a false tax return should be considered an aggravated felony requiring removal, which the majority explained was simply "speculation" and contradicted "well-recognized rules of statutory construction."

8. Apparently, he's crap on criminal justice: according to the Washington Post,
A number of Alito's dissents involve criminal defendants. When a majority of the court found a violation of the right to a speedy trial, he dissented. So, too, when the majority ruled that a district court had the authority to reduce a convict's sentence under the sentencing guidelines. So, too, when the majority ruled that habeas corpus relief was constitutionally required when the state had not met its burden of proving the defendant's specific intent beyond a reasonable doubt.

9. He agreed, reluctantly, that a lawsuit for wrongful death in the case of a stillbirth should be dismissed, since New Jersey law prohibited such suits; but in so doing, he noted that the fact that case law distinguished a "fetus" from a "person" was "unfortunate."

10. Which leads to the biggie: Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Alito argued that requiring women to tell their husbands before they could have abortions did not constitute an "undue burden." Scott Lemieux has an excellent discussion of Alito's argument, which I won't bother to reproduce here--read what Scott wrote. Now, y'all know that the SCOTUS is due to hear an important case about abortion pretty soon: New Hampshire's parental notification law. At stake is whether or not the law, which does not have an exception to protect the health of a minor if it is threatened by the pregnancy. O'Connor was the swing vote in striking down a Nebraska law against third-trimester abortions on the same grounds, the lack of exception for the health of the mother; if Alito replaces her, it is very possible he will go the other way.

This guy is scary. I mean really scary.

Sorry, the links from Bitch PhD's blog didn't copy. You'll have to here to get to them.

Procrastination and Masturbation

A very good friend of mine told me this:

Procrastination and masturbation are very similar. In the end you are just fucking yourself.

I've started writing again.

That was the hardest part. Starting. I suppose it always is. I'm amazed that I can find ever excuse not to write, think of it like some sort of weight I have to bear, yet as soon as I actually start, I remember why I need to write. Then, tomorrow, it will start all over.

I write for children. This blog is my only outlet for adult writing. I've finished 4 picture books (2 are in the slush piles of publishers, the other 2 are here after their latest rejection) and now I have started a middle grade/ya novel, historical fiction, set during the civil war.

Because of the disruption of the move, I had ample excuses not to write. The latest is that my mother is staying with me for an extended visit. She is in my guest room, which was previously my writing room. In addition to entertaining her, doing all the work around the house she wants me to do, and just spending time with her, she is living in the room I like to call my office.

Ok, that is a dumb excuse. I can write anywhere. My mother does not spend all her time in the guest room.

I decided to go over the manuscripts for my picture books, poetry and short stories before I delve back into the novel. Is that procrastination? Probably a little.

Also, I like picture books. I enjoy writing and reading them. However, I recently read that publishers are inundated with picture books. Everyone with a computer and an idea thinks that he or she can write a picture book. Why not? They are short and easy.

OK, while picture books are short (total pages 32, including title page, copy write, etc.) saying they are easy is like saying a haiku is easy to write. I mean, a haiku only has 17 syllables. How hard can that be?

I think anyone who has tried knows that getting a complete thought down to 17 syllables can be an exercise in torture. Every single word has to count, has to work, has to do its job efficiently or it must be eliminated. That is how picture books are.

And I think that's why I like the picture book format. A writer must whittle down words to the bare minimum and leave details to the illustrator. Do you remember the book "Good Night Moon"? The author envisioned a family of people, not bunnies. The illustrator decided on bunnies. Can you imagine it any other way?

I enjoy the challenge. I enjoy the structure and confinement (it is thinking inside the box). But am I up to the challenge? I found a few fatal flaws in my latest picture book, so the procrastination paid off. I'll be sending that off soon, and let everyone know how it fares.

Oh No! Not Again!

It would seem that a federal anti-gay amendment is coming back to haunt us.

At first I thought this was some sort of sad and demented mischief night joke.

Of course I was wrong. Can't we find something else for these wing-nuts to froth at the mouth about? I don't get this at all. At The Den of the Biting Beaver, there are several great posts about pornography and the slavery of women and children. Can't we get these conservatives up in arms about that? Aren't they trying to stop porn? The right wing is great at using diversions and misdirection. The left should try that.

I just wish they would leave gay people alone.

Thanks to Dictionopolis in Digitopolis, for pointing out that we can't let our guards down with these wingnuts

Betty Grable?

You're Betty Grable!


What Classic Pin-Up Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I found the link for this quiz on Dictionopolis in Digitopolis's blog. It's fun, and if I have to be a pin-up, Betty is a fine one.