I think if we just took the trash out more often we wouldn't have as much of a fly problem. . . I'm not putting it on you, I'm just saying.
- Man to woman at Berkeley Bowl
9.14.2008
overheard in berkeley
For the first time, ap and b are blogging from the same place!! No more talking via g-chat to recount the night's events - now they can share them over waffle-making and the Sunday NY Times.
Our first co-post is a new series, inspired by our adventures around Berkeley, that will let our readers know just how many absurd things one hears when riding the bus or walking around here.
On Saturday, ap and b took the bus to Berkeley Bowl for some groceries. While riding in mostly silence, another passenger broke that when she said to her friend:
"I can't wait until I have my own room to smoke in...but I just need to focus first before I start smoking. Like get a job first, then I'll start smoking."
At least she has her priorities straight.
Our first co-post is a new series, inspired by our adventures around Berkeley, that will let our readers know just how many absurd things one hears when riding the bus or walking around here.
On Saturday, ap and b took the bus to Berkeley Bowl for some groceries. While riding in mostly silence, another passenger broke that when she said to her friend:
"I can't wait until I have my own room to smoke in...but I just need to focus first before I start smoking. Like get a job first, then I'll start smoking."
At least she has her priorities straight.
8.21.2008
Happy Amish Thursday
In honor of Amish Thursday I thought I'd share a bit of information about the midwestern natives that seem to be growing at unbelievable rates. Even though they seem rare and fascinating to us, their population is growing at 130 percent and has expanded to a total of 28 states (new states include Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraksa, Washington, and West Virgina). This is exciting for a number of reasons, the most important being that more people will be exposed to their communities and culture. My favorite part of Amish culture is the delicious cheese and dairy products. Ohio has a large Amish population and much of our dairy in Oberlin was bought from Amish farms.
Let us know if there's an Amish enclave near you and how they are incorporated in the greater community!
8.15.2008
we are valueless
So, on JDB's blog he posted about his blog's worth. Apparently, this site allows you to put in your blog's URL and find out how much it's worth. JDB's was worth around $10K, so I was interested to find out what this one is worth. Well, here are the results....
I was really curious as to how this could be, so I tried to read up on this site to see how a value is determined. Initially I assumed it had to do with traffic and/or number of comments(ers); then I thought, well maybe it's that plus how often (or not) one updates the blog. When I finally found the site's "research", I admit, I was pretty confused. I think, but am not sure, that it simply has to do with how often (or not) you link to a set list of other sites and blogs, which seemed kind of lame. Maybe because the sites on that list have a certain value according to their advertising base...? The page says mostly techy words that I don't understand at all, but this is just the assumptive conclusion I came to. If anyone can read this research page and come to another conclusion, let me know. Anyways, just thought it was interesting. I can't decide if I'm disappointed or pleased that we are worth nothing, because, technically, couldn't that also mean we're priceless?
I was really curious as to how this could be, so I tried to read up on this site to see how a value is determined. Initially I assumed it had to do with traffic and/or number of comments(ers); then I thought, well maybe it's that plus how often (or not) one updates the blog. When I finally found the site's "research", I admit, I was pretty confused. I think, but am not sure, that it simply has to do with how often (or not) you link to a set list of other sites and blogs, which seemed kind of lame. Maybe because the sites on that list have a certain value according to their advertising base...? The page says mostly techy words that I don't understand at all, but this is just the assumptive conclusion I came to. If anyone can read this research page and come to another conclusion, let me know. Anyways, just thought it was interesting. I can't decide if I'm disappointed or pleased that we are worth nothing, because, technically, couldn't that also mean we're priceless?
8.11.2008
Mooney in the Blogosphere
I met Kate Mooney on the plane coming to Oberlin as freshman back in '04. Then in '06 we went abroad on the same program in Cordoba, Spain. Over the years I've begun to realize what a creative genius she is and now that I live 3,000 miles from her it pains me to have to witness that genius through the world wide web. But I will endure it and read her blog with dedication, because not only do I have a fondness for her, but also because the girl makes me laugh.
Kate also has a couple of successful brothers, one of which wrote The Republican War on Science and has his own blog that can be found here.
Lastly, her version of "New Soul" was better than Yael's. Just sayin'.
Kate also has a couple of successful brothers, one of which wrote The Republican War on Science and has his own blog that can be found here.
Lastly, her version of "New Soul" was better than Yael's. Just sayin'.
8.04.2008
Overheard in Berkeley
This dress would be perfect for Burning Man
- Woman to man as they check out a tattered dress on a mannequin used as a sign for a garage sale.
- Woman to man as they check out a tattered dress on a mannequin used as a sign for a garage sale.
7.31.2008
pic of the day: yay edition
ap moves in this weekend, b joins her in a month. So much excitement, we cannot handle it.
7.24.2008
beyond reproductive freedom: violence against women and controlling our bodies
Not that victim blaming or lack of response to sexual assault claims are really that uncommon, but lately, it seems there have been quite a few instances of both. The variety of the following stories really illustrates the spectrum of how women's bodies and privacy are constantly being violated.
This widely publicized story of a doctor who, during surgery, put a temporary tattoo on a female patient below the underwear line has received a lot of response. Not surprisingly, the woman's choice to sue the doctor has been talked about very negatively. The general feeling is that she should suck it up and take a joke. Ah, another silly feminist, anti-humor rant, right? Except that during surgery on a herniated disk, you're on your stomach and there really is no reason for your doctor to have you turned over, let alone be pulling your panties down. Personally, if I were going into surgery where I was going to be put completely under and had a male doctor, I'd be slightly worried about what was going to happen, and something like this just proves that fear justified. One blogger has a really good analysis of how being nice and having a sense of humor does not necessarily equal complacency when it comes to defending autonomy over our own bodies.
Sexual assault on college campuses has long been a significant issue, especially at larger institutions with a large fraternity/sorority culture. While sometimes claims against perpetrators of said abuse is taken as a serious threat to not only the victim's well-being, but also to the well-being of an entire student body, often when the accused of if a certain importance to the college or university, it becomes a different story. Recently, the University of Iowa has come under heat for its potential cover-up of an assault on a female student by two football players. The student was encouraged not to report the incident to police and nothing was done about the incident by the school for three weeks. One of the accused was even allowed to move in down the hall from the victim. This kind of "celebrity" protection college athletes get for criminal behavior is a familiar story, and creates hostile and dangerous environments for all students on campuses. The woman at UW actually had enough courage and, it seems, family support to report her rape to the authorities, but was still refused justice due to the player's status as one of the football team's most valuable. This brings up another issue: once a woman who has been assaulted actually reports it, which is so often not the case, what happens to her, the evidence, and the accused?
Sarah Tofte wrote a very good column in Tuesday's Washington Post about rape kits and what happens to them after they are performed on women. While states are given federal grants to pay for these kits (they run about $800 each and are free for victims), often the money goes unspent and evidence is shelved, sometimes forever. So, first a woman goes through the emotional and physical pain of being assaulted. If she is able to go to the ER, she is still often refused a kit, and then sometimes, nothing is even done with the kit. I know that in West Virginia, ER workers used to have to obtain a prosecutor's permission before being able to do a rape kit. This is absurd, especially when you think about the fact that many assaults happen in the middle of night and on weekends. By the time someone could get a prosecutor to sign off, the evidence was gone or unusable. State law has changed and now the only thing needed to perform a rape kit when a victim comes to the ER is her consent. From my training as a rape crisis advocate, many ER workers don't know about this change, forget, or simply don't care. Often, the advocate has to step in and get the nurse to do a rape kit, which is so ridiculous.
It really is sad how much we have to fight to prove that it is we, and we only, who control our bodies. And when this autonomy is violated, why is it our fault? And why is it so hard to get someone to care, pay attention, and do something about the accused?
This widely publicized story of a doctor who, during surgery, put a temporary tattoo on a female patient below the underwear line has received a lot of response. Not surprisingly, the woman's choice to sue the doctor has been talked about very negatively. The general feeling is that she should suck it up and take a joke. Ah, another silly feminist, anti-humor rant, right? Except that during surgery on a herniated disk, you're on your stomach and there really is no reason for your doctor to have you turned over, let alone be pulling your panties down. Personally, if I were going into surgery where I was going to be put completely under and had a male doctor, I'd be slightly worried about what was going to happen, and something like this just proves that fear justified. One blogger has a really good analysis of how being nice and having a sense of humor does not necessarily equal complacency when it comes to defending autonomy over our own bodies.
Sexual assault on college campuses has long been a significant issue, especially at larger institutions with a large fraternity/sorority culture. While sometimes claims against perpetrators of said abuse is taken as a serious threat to not only the victim's well-being, but also to the well-being of an entire student body, often when the accused of if a certain importance to the college or university, it becomes a different story. Recently, the University of Iowa has come under heat for its potential cover-up of an assault on a female student by two football players. The student was encouraged not to report the incident to police and nothing was done about the incident by the school for three weeks. One of the accused was even allowed to move in down the hall from the victim. This kind of "celebrity" protection college athletes get for criminal behavior is a familiar story, and creates hostile and dangerous environments for all students on campuses. The woman at UW actually had enough courage and, it seems, family support to report her rape to the authorities, but was still refused justice due to the player's status as one of the football team's most valuable. This brings up another issue: once a woman who has been assaulted actually reports it, which is so often not the case, what happens to her, the evidence, and the accused?
Sarah Tofte wrote a very good column in Tuesday's Washington Post about rape kits and what happens to them after they are performed on women. While states are given federal grants to pay for these kits (they run about $800 each and are free for victims), often the money goes unspent and evidence is shelved, sometimes forever. So, first a woman goes through the emotional and physical pain of being assaulted. If she is able to go to the ER, she is still often refused a kit, and then sometimes, nothing is even done with the kit. I know that in West Virginia, ER workers used to have to obtain a prosecutor's permission before being able to do a rape kit. This is absurd, especially when you think about the fact that many assaults happen in the middle of night and on weekends. By the time someone could get a prosecutor to sign off, the evidence was gone or unusable. State law has changed and now the only thing needed to perform a rape kit when a victim comes to the ER is her consent. From my training as a rape crisis advocate, many ER workers don't know about this change, forget, or simply don't care. Often, the advocate has to step in and get the nurse to do a rape kit, which is so ridiculous.
It really is sad how much we have to fight to prove that it is we, and we only, who control our bodies. And when this autonomy is violated, why is it our fault? And why is it so hard to get someone to care, pay attention, and do something about the accused?
7.23.2008
revisited: mccain is a dumbass
Raging Red has a nice, link-filled post about what an idiot the Republican party nominee really is. There's also a nice compilation here of some of McCain's many blunders related to his supposedly superior foreign policy experience. Still not convinced that no one in their right mind should vote for this guy? What about the fact that with rape, sexualized violence, and military coverups horrifically prominent in the US Forces, the guy who thinks rape is funny wants to be the commander in chief. Gross.
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