Saturday, April 26, 2008

Dear Obamabots:

Someone has already used the "you're with us or against us" ploy.

Sure- some people may be voting for Hillary instead of Barry because she is white, just like the many many obnoxious white frat boys that are voting for your messiah because he has a penis.

I am not one of those Hillary voters (and I think there are fewer of those types of voters than you would like. The real racists are voting for McCain). I have yet to meet a single person voting for Hillary purely because she is white.

Actually,

should Obama be the democratic nominee I will no longer have a place in the Democratic party. I do not vote against my own self -interest. I do not vote for sexists. So I won't be voting for McCain either.



Instead I'll go vote for a real progressive, who happens to be both a woman and black.

Damn, what are you gonna call me now that racist doesn't fit?



Expandable post testing

Let's see if this works

It works!

Next I am going to see if I can add tabs so I clear up some of the clutter

On cute Bulgarian boys and hamsters

So in the wee hours of the morning, when I was all blurry eyed from web design, I asked the cute Bulgarian to take a look.

He didn't like that Ruby and the recent comments has switched sides (neither did I) and now it's fixed. Though Ruby takes a large space and it took quite a bit of fixing to be able to see all of her box in IE (dear hot Bulgarian- come to Firefox. You will like it, I promise). At one point CB (cute Bulgarian) could not see the more button to feed Ruby a strawberry.

"I have to be able to give her a strawberry after making her run around so much"

And I thought that was so cute that my insides turned a little mushy inside (ok- a lot mushy).

I wonder if he realizes that he is the reason Ruby's favorite food is Bulgarian feta?

New site design



Opinions?

Is it too plain?

Too cluttered?

Too dull?

Or do you like it?

Friday, April 25, 2008

Shameless Bragging and a video

The last time this band was in town, I managed to score fab mezzanine seats at the Paramount. We were directly in front of the band at their eye level.

Seattle is a city of passive aggressive hipsters who are terrified of doing anything that might be "uncool". My friend and I had no such problems. So we were dancing our asses off while the painfully self conscious concert goers looked around to make sure they weren't showing too much enthusiasm.

Bucking social mores worked for us. About 4 songs, the lead singer dedicated this song to the two girls dancing in the balcony. The next day the band had breakfast with my concert friend's coworker (they worked at the Paramount, that's how we got such awesome seats) and I guess the band talked about how much they love seeing people like us dance to their music.

So next time you're at a show and you want to shake your ass but are afraid you might look weird- shake it anyways.


It ain't Spain

But after reading this story- I think I am going to learn French and run away to Senegal to teach 10,000 girls.

Actually, Senegal has a history of strong females and matriarchal handling of resources.

Read me!

Shakes- oh Shakes how do I love thee. In one prefect post you have summed up what I went wading into a shit swamp to explain with my roof metaphor.

For those of you who think that we feminists just see sexism everywhere (J.C.) this is required reading.

For those of you who think there is an evil cabal of white men that propagate sexism and you should be held blameless cause you just benefit from it- this is required reading.

For all the rest of us- it's just that good. Go forth and read.

BSG open thread

IF YOU DIDN'T SEE LAST WEEKS SHOW- AVERT YOUR EYES! SPOILERS SPOILERS!


Ok- since tomorrow is BSG livestreaming day, I thought we should all take a moment to remember Cally Tyrol.

Cally, when your boss loved a cylon saboteur who tried to kill Papa Bear- you shot her.

And then married your boss after he punched you in the jaw (but we all have issues Cally)

You were the one that made Tyrol stand up for the workers on the tillium ship.

You have always had a stronger moral core.

Of course, that might be because your dear hubby is a cylon. But you just found that out. Which also means that little Nicky is half cylon, perhaps he and Hera will grow up to rule the universe together.

But..................................

That bitch Tory blew you out of the airlock. I never liked her. Bring Billy back.

That is all.

Idiots, they make us laugh

Long long ago, there was a writer here named DeeK.

DeeK is a dude. Actually, DeeK is a brilliant, big, black dude. I can attest, we worked together long before we started this blog together. And then DeeK got a real job and started seriously working on his book and his other website, and we don't see DeeK around here anymore. (Though I still see him cause we like to go drinking and oggling cute girls together)

DeeK, a true feminist ally if ever there was one, wrote a post called Why Do Men Hate Women?

This post is one of the things that brings out the crazies.

Normally I would turn the comments into a nursery rhyme, but sometimes I like to let the crazies stand. It really showcases how fucking off their rocker they are.

And what is even funnier is that the commenters always think that post was written by a girl. There is no chance of a DUDE, a DUDE WITH A PENIS, writing something that might be feminist friendly.

Sadly why do men hate women is one of the things that regularly brings people to my blog. I assume that like our batshit commenters, they are looking for a fellow rager to justify their hate. I do hope that maybe a wee bit of DeeK's thoughtfulness sinks in, but I am not that hopeful.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

RQ Cooks- Avgolemono Soup


(Why yes this is a crappy cell phone pic of soup. Trust that it tastes much better than this pic looks)

This sunny, yummy Greek soup is also super easy to make when you have next to nothing in the fridge. And it really does taste like a mouth full of sunshine and happy.

As usual- I took someone else's recipe and adapted it.

6 eggs
8 cups of chicken stock ( I used chicken bullion and it worked fine, really)
1.5 cups white rice
Juice of 6 lemons (I had a bottle of lemon juice in my fridge- I prolly used about 1.5 cups cause we really like lemon flavor)
Dill

In soup pot, bring stock to boil
add rice
In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix eggs
to eggs add lemon juice slowly

turn soup down to low

Temper the egg mixture with hot broth so that eggs will not curdle when you add them to soup by adding small amounts of hot soup to eggs and mixing until the egg mix is warm in the bowl

Add eggs to soup. Cook for about 20 minutes or until rice is done, stirring regularly.

Garnish with dill

Cause I really like the roof metaphor.

So Lil Ms. Randombabble sent me to this fright fest of misogyny and privilege (thanks! Now I need a bleach bath for my soul)

So this guy doesn't think he should be held responsible for his privilege cause he didn't start it- wah wah wah.

So I give you my comment, in full- typos and all, cause I think the metaphor works really well.

Wow- that entire piece just has white boy privilege bleeding through it.

But there’s a more important point, which is that the idea of privilege seems to me to shift the ‘blame’ for any such favoritism away from the people who propagate it and toward the people who ‘benefit’ from it.

First- who are the mythical people that propagate privilege? Is there a special committee straight, rich, thin, white heterosexual men who get together once a month to decide on the ways further their influence?

No.

Privilege is perpetuated by people who refuse to see that they benefit from it. There is no evil cabal writing secret rules to benefit some people over others. There are just people who have privilege and don’t want to give it up- so they pretend like it doesn’t exist or it isn’t their responsibility cause they didn’t make things the way they are.

You might need to, I don’t know, go learn about how sexism and racism are institutional structures. That means they are the framework society is built on. Much like the framing of your house- you can’t exactly see them cause they are covered with a bunch of stuff. But it’s still there, holding up your roof, whether you believe in it or not.

But see that framework is built to leave a bunch of us (women, gays and lesbians, people of color, the disabled, etc) out in the rain most of the time. Sometimes we get a tiny chance to sneak under the roof for a bit. But usually we are just standing outside, soaking wet, while privileged fucks like you stand under the roof and declare that there isn’t a cloud in the sky.

But surely we are postfeminists now

BTW- this be the 1000th post. 1000, in 2 years and one month. Damn- no wonder I be so tired.

From Valleywag comes a lovely little piece about how Google is trying to make sure that their engineering staff is at least 25% female. YAY Google (though you know we are about 51% of the population- so don't aim too low)

But of course the shithead is in the comments

And overall, I think pussy just motivates people. It's like a phantom reward. Men are more polite around woman with the false pretense of sex later that rarely happens. Personally, I'm above that and accept the patriarchal society.

Hell, terrorists use it [pussy] as an excuse to bomb each other in the middle east. Island of 50 virgins and a the finest wine.

On that end, I personally find woman annoying. Men that surround these woman make my teeth grit. Get back to work. I want one woman, just for myself. Not much to ask. A techy? Trust me, you are supposed to be an interlocking duo, she should love you for your techness. You can love her for keeping her body a temple and interest in culinary arts. Woman should keep their bodies sculpted and perfect, their hobbies don't even matter. True woman are passive and should like whatever you show them.

That's right ladies. Your only value is in keeping your body a temple so that your pussy is a proper motivator. And don't forget to make me a sammich.

Speaking of things that piss me off- I used HRC's wage gap calculator and I make about 10k a year less than a man with my similar back ground and education. No wonder my account is overdrawn.

Also it's take your kid to work day. Mine is sitting at the end of the lab reading manga at the mo. Everyday is take your kid to work day here.


Have you noticed little Ruby

in the sidebar.

If you double click on the more button you can feed her a strawberry. If you double click on Ruby, she'll run on the hamster wheel.

I know it's totally mindless, but I love playing with her.

And I completely swiped it from Adorable Girlfriend at the Republic of Dogs.

Your clump of uterine cells is what you eat

You may have read some of the blog rage for a certain study about how a woman's prenatal diet can influence the sex of her child (huh- I thought sperm determined sex, but that eliminates blaming the ladies don't it). But of course they ONLY talk about how it influences the birth of boy babies. Cause who in their right mind would want a girl?

My answer at Shakes was:

Huhm, my pre-baby-boy gestation diet was diet coke and marlboros (I was 19 and he was a surprise) so I am going to say diet coke and malboros makes boys. Maybe for girls it's mountain dew and camels.

But, that is a wee bit unfair. I can't really pick on people for wanting a child of one sex over another. When I was pregnant I wanted a boy. I grew up in house full of cruelty directed at me purely because of my sex. My mother hated me because I was a girl. I was given twice the work, none of the encouragement and resources such as clothing only grudgingly (and then with months of guilt, anger and actual objects thrown at me for needing anything). My birthday was regularly forgot (My brother's birthday is a month before mine so there wasn't any money left for presents or cake by then anyways). And that is just the easy stuff, only my therapist knows the worst. I am told that my aunt cried when I was born because I was a girl (not that she hates girls, she has 2 daughters who she loves and supports unconditionally) but because she knew my lot in life was going to suck with my mother.

So when I found out I was pregnant at 19, I did not think I had enough strength or distance from my own childhood to give a daughter a fair chance. I wanted a boy because at least I had seen how to raise a boy with love. And a boy is what I got.

Now with 13 years of mommy experience and almost as much therapy, I think I could raise a kick ass girl. But I've come a long way to be able to say that.

It is easy for us to cringe at the idea of sex selective abortions and to bemoan the fate of all the little unwanted Chinese girls. We can push for restrictions on sex selective abortions all we want, but that doesn't change the culture that values boys over girls. It just gives girls to parents, like my mother, who don't want to raise them. We can find it disgusting that so many people, men and women, want sons to pass on the family name or give the birth of a boy more value than that of a girl.But we really aren't that much different than the Chinese. We still value boy children over girl children.

And until we change that value system, until a child is valued because it is a child and not because of it's xy chromosomes, then complaining and restricting doesn't do a damn thing but put girls into homes where they are despised. Trust me, I know.

A little blegging never hurt anyone

So the RQ screwed up. I knew that money would be tight this month (being that I have only half a months income due to spring break) and I knew I was overdrawn at the bank.

I didn't know I was $375 overdrawn. That's 10 overdraft fees (but oddly only $25 in actual overdraft). I know, when you have less money you have to be more careful. I am sure that at least one of those overdrafts is because I had to spend $4.95 on hair dye cause it was super on sale even though my hair doesn't need to be dyed yet (I finally let vanity get to me and started dying the greys.)But most of it is from groceries. Even eating super cheap we can't get by on less than $350 per month and more like $400.

So my next check in a week is for $384. Which means I will have exactly $9 for food, rent, laundry soap, etc for 2 weeks after the overdraft fees are paid.

If you have a few bucks to spare, anything you send me goes straight to paying the overdraft and makes eating a much more distinct possibility. And of course royalty will smile on you.

We now resume our regular snark schedule.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Cause Shakes Reminded Me

If there was a theme song to my life, this is it. Kristy Maccoll- In These Shoes.

Let's see: Shoes, check. Spanish, check. world travel, check, multiple boys, check. And just a wee bit of sadism, check.

But Kristy MacColl was not just awesome for writing a song that perfectly sums up my slutty ways. She was a single mom and did an entire album about how hard dating and mommying is. And then she died while swimming in the French Riviera with her kids. She was decapitated by a run away speedboat while saving her kids from being run over.

So a slutty creative adventurous mom. Yep, that's me.



So what would your theme song be?

Who's your daddy



Via DonnaDarko at Hillary1000. Awesome. Just awesome.

Hey Dan Savage!

We already know you hate the fatties, but you are making it more and more obvious that you hate the ladies too (and not in the I'm gay and just want to sleep with dudes kind of way).

You're chosen candidate doesn't really think it's okay for you and you boyfriend to get married or have kids. Of course he also thinks that I, as a woman, should only have "some control" over my own body.

And yet, you keep yelling for Clinton to drop out. You think that that the fucking opinions of the BASE of the party is what is going to tear the party apart. I think you do not understand what a political base is. You might want to think about how someone whose views are antithetical to progressive ideas (what with the sexism, homophobia, and fucking republican framing) crying cause he has to compete in a real race might be the reason the party is split.

We are not required to vote for someone who does not have our own best interests at heart. I don't have to vote for an anti-choice sexist. You shouldn't have to vote for a homophobe. But you are. And you are demanding that the rest of us stop fighting for ourselves.

So please, STFU already.

Blub blub blub.



The line about 90 year old ladies who remember when women couldn't vote made me all teary eyed. She's just so awesome and gracious and kick-ass.

Hillary's campaign needs money. Obama out spent her 3 to 1 in PA (and she still kicked his ass). If my account weren't overdrawn she'd be getting my donation tonight. Instead- I plan on sending her part of my economic stimulus rebate (support Hillary and screw Bush, sweet). But she needs cash before. She's got Indiana and North Carolina in two weeks and the Obamabots are going to be rabidly pissed at her massive PA win.

UPDATE Someone awesome made a 50 dollar contribution for me (and another for herself) RQ is totes fine with donations to our future fearless leader made in her name.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Slacker monkey gets a clue

So there are tons of lovely blogs out there that I have just discovered. Some are We Are Hillary peeps, or linkers or commenters or some that I have just stumbled upon.

And I find myself just a wee bit unable to remember to read everybody. And then I feel bad. Really- I love you all I am just forgetful and mostly lazy.

And then I discovered Google Reader (I know- I'm fucking slow).

So I am setting up my reader subscriptions. Drop me a linky on comments if you love me and want to make it easier on me.

Ok Pennsylvanians


Go vote. We are all sitting on our hands waiting for your polls to close. Thank god I have vodka and tonic at home. I'm drinking tonight.

Happy Earth Day!

So it's earth day, that one day of the year when people pledge to get all green and wholesome.

I am not an environmentalist. I repeat. I am not an environmentalist. I am not a nature lover (though I don't have a problem with people who are). I am not a hiker who loves the pristine views of rarely walked paths. I grew up surrounded by that shit. I grew up at 7000 feet above sea level near one of the deepest, purest, fresh water lakes in the world. I've climbed giant rocks and been chased by bears and dug out 12 feet of snow from our driveway. I prefer the city.

That said- my carbon foot print is tiny. It's about one third the size of most Americans . Of course it's still about 64% larger than most other people in the world.


But I think I can still sit on my high horse and be horribly condescending for one sec. First- go read this. It's awesome. Why is it that so many of the things that can be done and that are being done to help the environment are women's work? They have been talking about solar power
for decades, while we change our lightbulbs and skip the dryers and use crappy (admit it) "natural" (what this means is some mildly astringent smelling water and 10 times the elbow grease) cleaners cause ehwwww the scary chemicals.

And disposable diapers? The only people who can seriously recommend changing back to cloth diapers do not understand 1) that baby poop explodes without warning- you want a plastic shield between you and the baby's ass) and 2) Cloth diapers means taking a shit filled diaper, rinsing it out in the toilet and then carrying around a bag (or bags) full of wet shitty fabric till you can get to a washer or diaper pail. If I had to use cloth diapers on the Kid's ass (and I certainly got enough guilt about it) then I couldn't have left my house before he was 3.

So with all my antipathy for an environmental movement that is bent on increasing my workload- how is it that my carbon footprint looks like it does?

Poverty. Poverty makes us buy less, reuse more. We don't own a car. I walk to work and to the grocery store, drugstore and bank. I take the bus if it's longer than that but that doesn't even come to 200 miles a year. We recycle almost everything, though we don't compost (I may just start a bucket if a friend of mine actually does turn my postage stamp back yard into a garden). We buy a lot of local produce because Washington happens to be a damn fine state for growing shit. But if it wasn't, or if it's the middle of January and I am simply dying for fruit- you can bet your sweet ass I'm getting blackberries from Mexico, if we can afford it.

And speaking of poverty and the environment- you all have heard that because so many crops in the US were replaced with biofuel stock that there is a shortage of rice, flour and oil in many states. Costco in California is rationing bags of rice. Next time I see a Jetta with a biodiesel logo on it, I'm leaving the owner a little note about how their desire to drive does not outweigh other people's need to eat.

(It's not that I do not understand the need for a massive change in how we get energy- it just happens that I am a lithium-ion plug in cars and csp solar energy kind of girl. Neither of those things requires valuable farm land to stop producing food)

Monday, April 21, 2008

Pack your bags

Soopermouse and I have decided to move to Spain.

Let's see, there is this, the Spanish defense minister inspecting the troops.
And the defense minister is not the blue suited guy, she's the pregnant woman on the left.

Oh and Spain has a history of activist women and a government that is actively trying to have an equal balance of women in power. And there is the legal gay marriage thing. And Spain has one of the awesomest laws for prosecuting crimes against humanity.

And then there is cava. And jamon serrano. And manchego and paella.

And Almodovar and Goya and Javier Bardem.

Now I just have to figure out how to get a job there.

Give Obama the Veep spot

Cause in the last 170 years the only sitting Vice President to get elected as president was George Bush the first. And after 5 months of Obamabot misogyny, I don't want him in the White house ever.

When did you know?

I know the exact moment when I started (re) liking Hillary. It was December 7, 2007. And I think it was probably about 5 in the morning.

And it was this clip



I was an Edwards supporter. Then he got all misogynistic for a minute, then he dropped out. I will freely admit that for the last few years I had forgotten how much I liked her as First Lady and bought into a shitload of the misogyny that was being thrown her way.

And then I saw her laugh at Maria Barteromo. And now I remember why I love her. And if you can't see from this video why she is the only person with the chops to pull us out of the current shitswamp of an economy, then you need glasses.

Why write when you can chat

Quelipoth: hey
me: hello chickadee
Quelipoth: let me ask you an intereting question
me: you never ask me dull ones
Quelipoth: consodering that we have evidence showing Obama was losing until the moment he started attackign clinton
and that most of his campaign is based on mysoginistic attacks against her
me: yes
Quelipoth: is it ethical to hold Obama supporters, even those who have not theemselves personally attacked her with sexist slurs as being at least partially accomplices in the sexist attacks their candidate performed against her?
me: That's a tough one.
Quelipoth: considering that teh message their support conveys is that they do not care whether Obama wins by disenfranchising women?
me: They aren't responsible for his campaign, obviously, but it was his supporters doing the bullying at the caucuses
Quelipoth: well, they aren't responsible for his campaign, but their support of it can be regarded as an endorsement of its methods
me: and NO candidate can win by alienating women
that's absolutely true
Quelipoth: yes
me: and i have seen a few Obama supporters come out agianst the sexism, but not against the sexism Obama himself uses
Quelipoth: so, since we haven't seen a movement by obama supporters to ask his campaogn to stop teh sexist attack, does that make them all accomplices, even if it is just by turning a blind eye?
me: just the stuff that the media spews
I kinda feel that way. That's part of the reasson why i have lost some friends over this
Quelipoth: this is kinda why I have reached the conclusion that no progressive can support Obama while in possession of all facts and in good faith, and that some cognitive dissonance is involved
Sent at 2:37 PM on Monday
me: yes- though there are a shitload of "progressives" who think women are not fully equal. See Kucinich and his support for Ron Paul.
Quelipoth: i also think that Libertarian Democrat is the best description for obama
me: maybe
though I think he might be something else entirely
Quelipoth: the guy is not a progressive, and his weird belief that talking and free market will solve everything is a bit scary
me: that just makes him a classic liberal
Quelipoth: i think it makes him a post modernistic one
classic liberals were not afraid of wars when the need arose
me: nah- I think sexism falls firmly into the classic
Quelipoth: sexism is ever present. [frown]
me: But it doesn't have to be
Sent at 2:41 PM on Monday
Quelipoth: it does, because otherwise the bepenised beings migth have to earn their keep
me: I think the whole problem is people seeing Obama as a new type of candidate. he's not really. He's a very traditional liberal who just happens to be black
Hillary hasn't run on being above the political fray, she's run on her own merit
Sent at 2:44 PM on Monday
Quelipoth: which is where i have a problem
me: Oh me too
That's why the obamabots are scary. They are not looking at things rationally, but they are looking at him as a messianic figure. And there is a reason politics and religion shouldn't mix



As you wish

So the Bulgarian and I both have a love of movies. Lots of movies, weird movies, funny movies, foreign movies. I took him to Scarecrow last week because 1)He had never been in the most awesome video store on the planet and because he was telling me that Serbian films are very good and Scarecrow has a giant (I mean giant) section of foreign films by country.

So he pulls out this Serbian film- No Man's Land. "It's very good movie" he said.
"Oh I know, I've seen it". I think he was impressed, though I watch A LOT of foreign films.

We ended up renting Almodovar's What Have I Done to Deserve This. He sure does like the frustrated wife kills husband plot. Though I think Volver was better.

Anyways, yesterday we were chatting about Eastern Promises. I mentioned that the naked fight scene was weird and hot. And how all I could think of through the whole thing was that he should be protecting his bits. The Bulgarian had the same thought.

At one point he typed "As you wish" to me. Being a good, goofy American girl, that line makes me think of only one thing. But he hasn't seen it. Shocking, really.

In addition to teaching him about ROUSes and who Inigo Montoya is, I want to make a list of classic American movies that I should recommend to him.

So peeps- what movies do you think I should put on that list. I already own Casablanca. I know some Hitchcock should be in there (Notorious being my favorite- it's got Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant and they got a long smooch past the censors by having them talk during the kiss). I don't think I need to recommend things like the Godfather or Rocky, they are popular enough on their own and I really can't sit through that much misogyny, again. Maybe the Magnificent Seven (Steve McQueen and Yule Brenner, hubba hubba) though I know it's a remake of The Seven Samurai.

Suggestions?

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Go forth and linkify!

Follow the links at BlueLyon's place to see the happiest thing you will ever see on a Sunday.

How could I possibly forget!

When writing my little list of movies I'd like to see I forgot about an honest portrayal of accidental pregnancy.

White, middle class teenage girl probably is more likely to have an abortion than give the kid up for adoption.

White, middle class successful tv host is probably going to have an abortion and not a relationship with the pot head who knocked her up.

And poor pregnant waitresses never become millionaires.

I would like to see pregnant teen discovers she's knocked up and then goes through a nightmarish process to come up with the money to pay for an abortion. And doesn't regret it for a second. That's way closer to reality.