Name That Cult Movie: The Answering

Answers away! For the first time, several movies weren't identified in comments! Goodness! You people need to start renting crappy movies right away! For quick reference, I'll mark in red the numbers of the movies that were not recognized. Thanks for playing; we have some lovely parting gifts for you!

1. "Hello! Hello, hello! Here I am with a flying saucer in my lap, not to mention an escaped convict, and I can't get this phone to work!"- Devil Girl From Mars: This is your standard black & white "aliens come to earth to kidnap us for breeding stock" 50's sci-fi movie, but I have a lot of affection for it, because:

• It was actually based on a play, if you can believe it. If you think this movie is dull, imagine watching it live with no special effects!
• The "Devil Girl" is totally decked out like an outer space dominatrix, with an awesome cardboard box-bot, and
• The people in this movie drink. A lot. Any time the conversation dies down, out come the bottles of whiskey. I find that simultaneously goofy and charming.

2. "I am Ergo the Magnificent! Short in stature, tall in power, narrow of purpose, and wide of vision, and I do not travel with peasants and beggars. Good bye!"- Krull: Lots of people recognized this one. Sure, it's lousy, but it does have a giant glass spider (pre David Bowie!), and the lead filled out his striped tights rather well.

3. "Those guys aren't even giving us a hard look."- I Married a Monster From Outer Space: One of my favorites; a real classic of 50's outer space nuttiness. More horny aliens trying to "save their race." Yeah, sure. Haven't these aliens ever heard of internet porn? Geez.

4. "You've overstepped your line again, Bub. There's a creator's highest law that keeps you in your dark place and yet you and your brethren still insist on coming into this world and trying to steal a place in the world of the living. When will you ever learn?"- Rock 'n Roll Nightmare: Sometimes only a picture can do a movie justice; this is one of those movies. So, courtesy of Deeky, I give you all you'll ever need to know about this movie:

It's awesome.

5. "Who the fuck hit me?"
"Batman, motherfucker!"- Black Belt Jones: I'd like to call this "blaxploitation at its most ridiculous," but I really love this movie, and Enter the Dragon's Jim Kelly, the hero, could probably crush my windpipe with his big toe. So I'll just say this movie rocks out loud, and has one of the funkiest soundtracks you'll ever hear.

6. "Where is the Mr. Pibb? I told your secretary to pack Mr. Pibb. It's the only Coke I like. Goddamn Brenda exploding like a water balloon, worms driving my friends around like they're goddamn skin-cars, people are spitting acid at me, turning you into cottage cheese, and now there's no fucking goddamn Mr. Pibb?"- Slither: Holy crap. This movie is awesome. Seriously, you have no idea how awesome it is. If you love horror/sci-fi, and you haven't seen this movie, rent it right now. Trust me. You can read my review here.

7. "No, no, more of the funny show, the little puppets hitting each other! That's what I like! Little things hitting each other!"- Time Bandits: The Movie that Changed My Life.

8. "Would I be correct in thinking that you can neither see nor hear me? Then I'd like to tell you that you smell of pee. You look like the wrong end of a dog. And I swear, if I don't get my Tristan back as he was, I'll be your personal poltergeist!"- Stardust: I saw this movie recently; I wanted to see it in the theater, but it vanished before I got the chance. Which is a shame, because it's a wonderful film, and it doesn't get half the recognition of The Princess Bride. Once you get past DeNiro's mincing portrayal of a closeted pirate captain (Come on, Robert; don't you know one homosexual in Hollywood?), it's really a lot of fun.

9. "Paul, this is more important than selling ice cream! There's clowns running around killing people; we're all in danger!"- Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Greatest Movie Ever Made. Don't question me.

10. "Send... more... paramedics."- Return of the Living Dead: An iconic moment in an iconic film. And the best part about it is, they do.

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Pondering the shit not being addressed whilst folks pretend to debate isms…

Crossposted at AngryBlackBitch.com.

A bitch watched the primary coverage yesterday for a wee bit and then I had to turn that shit off.

I’ve found myself getting drawn into debates over campaign bullshit and distracted from the real issues that are at play in this election year.

So, I took a break last night and my ass is glad for it because I woke up this morning to several e-mails asking this bitch whether I thought sexism or racism have had a greater impact on the Democratic side of things.

Blink.

Shit.

Sexism has been a factor in the primary race?

Of course it has.

This is America and you can drop a period and end that sentence after 'factor'. I’m not disturbed by pundits pondering whether the political press has indulged in a sexism gorge fest…my ass is disturbed that anyone who regularly watches these people could work up shock over the sexism gorge fest taking place.

I’m a woman (and by the way, someone needs to tell these same assholes that ‘woman’ comes in multiple shapes, colors, backgrounds and orientations) and my ass is deeply involved in politics. Sexism is a factor…in print, on television, on the fucking radio and in the minds of voters.

So a bitch wasn’t shocked.

I was disappointed…

…and more than a little rattled at the overt and unapologetic nature of the beast.

Cough.

Racism has been, is and will remain a factor in American political life. I will admit that my dreamy eyed optimistic hope that racism wouldn’t be used as a political tool during the Democratic Primary season was…well, dreamy eyed and overly optimistic.

My bad (wince).

But a bitch wasn’t shocked.

I was, once again, disappointed…

…and more than a little rattled at the overt and unapologetic nature of the beast.

Pause…sip ice water…continue.

The difference between this bitch and some pundits and supporters is that my ass couldn’t fix my face to deny that sexism has played a role in this shit if the reward was a life free of bullshit. But some would deny that racism has been in play. Others still seek to engage in an 'oppression off' and debate whether racism is more harmful that sexism or sexism is more harmful than racism or your momma said my momma said blah followed by blah followed by Jesus bullshit sure...does...stink.

Well, this bitch ain’t playing that tired ass insulting and bound to get you nowhere fast game.

I am a woman of color and my angry black self is subject to both and the beneficiary of neither.

This election matters in a lot of ways but one key way is that it presents the Democratic Party and candidates to the American people. Breaking news, y'all – most Americans aren’t into party politics. Oh, they may vote…but that doesn’t mean that they define themselves by party affiliation. And those that don’t vote often cite party–based drama as a reason for not voting.

So here y'all are baiting and insulting and pandering your way to the convention where some are threatening to bait, insult and pander their way to the nomination…bare-assed and naked as the day you were born and demonstrating no home training for all the world to see.

Sigh.

But this election matters and I can't afford for that to get lost in the bullshit.

My community needs change...in our education policy, funding for programs that assist the mentally disabled, housing, health care, std prevention and comprehensive sex education, job creation, investment in industries that create jobs and so much more.

This is not a game to me or an opportunity to increase the number of visitors to this blog.

This is the shit…the show, for the love of all that matters.

Let’s all try to keep that in mind while others attempt to stir shit through June 3rd.

Don’t get me wrong…a bitch thinks a serious discussion of racism and sexism is long overdue. I am not a fan of the school of tolerance.

But the second someone says in reference to this election cycle that sexism was in play but racism wasn’t, trust that a serious discussion of anything is not about to follow.

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Wednesday Blogaround

What's the frequency, Shakers?

Recommended Reading:

Phil: Ending the LaVena Petition

Digby: Life's Work

Cara: When Authorities "Don't Give a Shit"

Matttbastard: "The years teach much which the days never knew."

Mary: Victims of the Housing Scam

Thers: Introducing the Amazing Rockethead!

Leave your links in comments!

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Everhart = Everlost

Georgia Republican Party chairwoman Sue Everhart is a little confused about the concept of comparison.

Sentence 1:

"John McCain is kind of like Jesus Christ on the cross."

Sentence 2:

"I'm not trying to compare John McCain to Jesus Christ, I'm looking at the pain that was there."

And here are Merriam-Webster's definitions of the verb "compare":

1: to represent as similar : liken (shall I compare thee to a summer's day? — Shakespeare)
2 a: to examine the character or qualities of especially in order to discover resemblances or differences (compare your responses with the answers) b: to view in relation to (tall compared to me) (easy compared with the last test)
3: to inflect or modify (an adjective or adverb) according to the degrees of comparison

Long story short, Sue, if you think McCain is kind of like Christ on the cross, then you're comparing McCain to Jesus Christ, albeit in a specific scenario. No backsies.

As for the need to worship compare any political candidate to a biblical character, I think that's why a lot of other countries will continue to simply pass us by on any reasonable form of progress.

[H/T to C&L]

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Random YouTubery: JUNK IT!!!

In the Quote(s) of the Day thread, Shaker Roramich asked if declared feminists get a toaster oven, to which I replied, "No, a stress ball." I am going to start marketing Shakesville Stress Ballz. Because stress ballz save lives, you know!

"That little sucker just saved your life!"

[Clip from Mystery Men.]

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Quote(s) of the Day

"I am a feminist."—Bill Wolfrum, feminist.

"I am a feminist."—Joel Johnson, feminist.

"I am a feminist."—JMonkey, feminist.

"I am…a feminist."—MR Bill, feminist.

"I am a feminist."—Melissa McEwan, feminist.

You know what to do in comments. Womanists welcome.

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Hillary Sexism Watch, Part Ninety-Goddamn-Seven

They're coming fast and furious now, Shakers. This is currently on the cover of Slate:

Ignore the validity of the premise that Clinton is "in Obama's way," to focus merely on how that message is communicated here: Not "Clinton, you're in my way" or "Senator, you're in my way" or even just, "Hey, you're in my way," but "Lady, you're in my way."

As if, perhaps, Senator Hillary Clinton is a doddering old woman who is swerving her cart back and forth in the grocery aisle, rather than a serious presidential contender fighting out a close race to the finish.

And, for the record, even if she were a doddering old woman swerving her cart back and forth in the grocery aisle, "Lady, you're in my way" would still be fucking rude.

In the actual article, in which John Dickerson wonders, "Can Obama do anything to get Clinton out of the race?", he asserts that by telling the Washington Post that the sexism used against her during the campaign has been "deeply offensive to millions of women," Clinton is "making it more painful for Obama if he tries to push her out." Right. Pointing out the unrelenting sexism during this campaign is just a Machiavellian ploy to damage Obama.*

That it's not considered possible for people to point out sexism—even Clinton herself, who has been its target—without it being a swipe at Obama (and/or a bit of shilling for Clinton) is just another bit of misogyny, the idea that women and their allies must have an ulterior motive for addressing sexism. As if the sexism itself isn't bad enough, or as if it doesn't really even exist in the first place—it's just some concocted excuse to take a hit at someone, or "make things painful" for Obama.

Christ.

(Also note that Slate's "women's" blog, The XX Factor, is having an important discussion about "The Secret Lives of Married Men" while the first viable female presidential candidate ever is being trashed on their wankazine's front page. Brava.)

[H/T to Shaker Squires, via email.]

-------------------------

* Never mind that in the audio of the interview, Clinton says, twenty seconds in: "I think that part of what I have to do [as I continue campaigning] is both continue to make the case for me but also to demonstrate that we're going to have a unified Democratic Party when we finally have a nomination, because it's really important that we win," and then says again, at 2:15, after being asked if "women" (note) are going to be upset if she doesn't get the nomination: "It's one of the closest races we've ever had, and I think that a lot of people are deeply invested in their candidates, so there will probably be disappointment no matter which of us gets the nomination, and then it will be up to us to unify the Party and make sure that we are victorious in November against McCain."

Hillary Sexism Watch: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, Thirty, Thirty-One, Thirty-Two, Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four, Thirty-Five, Thirty-Six, Thirty-Seven, Thirty-Eight, Thirty-Nine, Forty, Forty-One, Forty-Two, Forty-Three, Forty-Four, Forty-Five, Forty-Six, Forty-Seven, Forty-Eight, Forty-Nine, Fifty, Fifty-One, Fifty-Two, Fifty-Three, Fifty-Four, Fifty-Five, Fifty-Six, Fifty-Seven, Fifty-Eight, Fifty-Nine, Sixty, Sixty-One, Sixty-Two, Sixty-Three, Sixty-Four, Sixty-Five, Sixty-Six, Sixty-Seven, Sixty-Eight, Sixty-Nine, Seventy, Seventy-One, Seventy-Two, Seventy-Three, Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five, Seventy-Six, Seventy-Seven, Seventy-Eight, Seventy-Nine, Eighty, Eighty-One, Eighty-Two, Eighty-Three, Eighty-Four, Eighty-Five, Eighty Six, Eighty-Seven, Eighty-Eight, Eighty-Nine, Ninety, Ninety-One, Ninety-Two, Ninety-Three, Ninety-Four, Ninety-Five, Ninety-Six.

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Hillary Sexism Watch, Part Ninety-Goddamn-Six

In case you needed any motivation for Assignment: Teaspoon below, CNN—yes, the same outlet currently running the question "Do you agree with Sen. Hillary Clinton that the press has ignored sexism in the campaign?" without a trace of irony, unless their position is: "No, we're not ignoring it; we're fomenting it!"—yesterday featured a panel debating whether calling accomplished attorney and advocate, former First Lady, two-term Senator, and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton a "white bitch" is appropriate.

[Transcript below.]
It's hard to say what the best part of this exchange really is, aside from the overall awesomeness of even debating on national television in 2008 whether it's appropriate to refer to a woman as a "white bitch." (And I guess I need to point out to the sophisticated and highly-paid CNN political analysts that specifying she's a white bitch makes it a racist commentary, too, if for no other reason than the implicit suggestion there's a special bitchitude reserved for women of color.)

It was charming to see how everyone could so readily agree that Clinton is "very good at playing the professional victim," at least until she gets up close and can stick a knife in your ribs, and I love the naked truth revealed in Castellanos' comment: "It doesn't have to be unanimous." A lot of voters—millions and millions and millions of them, in fact; many of whom didn't even vote for her—don't find Clinton to be "a very abrasive, aggressive, irritating person," but it doesn't have to be unanimous for it to be "true," for it to become uncontestable conventional wisdom that Hillary Clinton is abrasive, aggressive, and irritating. All that needs to happen is for enough people in enough positions of power over the public discourse to state it repeatedly as though it's fact, and thusly it will be. (Just like Bush has always been a popular and well-liked president who had a mandate going into his second term.)

But my favorite part has to be what didn't get said: That this country is seriously fucked to the everloving hilt with misogyny when you can be a woman eminently qualified for the most important, most respected, most difficult job in the entire nation, and one of the most important, most respected, most difficult jobs in the entire world, and still be reduced to a "white bitch" by some wanker on CNN without anyone batting an eye—because, ya know, some women are "named that" for a reason.

TRANSCRIPT OF VIDEO CLIP

Jeffrey Toobin: I think Hillary Clinton is dead right. There was a column in the New York Times not too long ago, where it talked about some of the humor in the campaign, and the punchline was, was a line that, that was, that, that Hillary Clinton was a white bitch. You couldn't say that—I mean, that is acceptable about a woman; you couldn't say the equivalent thing about a man, and I, I mean, about a black person, and I think it's appalling, but I think she's absolutely right that there has been a level of sexism that is—

[crosstalk]

Alex Castellanos: If I can disagree, I think you're dead wrong. She's dead wrong. And I think she thinks her problem is she's a woman; her problem is she's Hillary Clinton. And some women, by the way, are named that and it's accurate.

Toobin: Well…

Castellanos: So she's, she is a tough lady, tough in politics, that's been her great strength, but, let's face it, she can be a very abrasive, aggressive, uhhhh, irritating person, and a lot of voters, I think, see her that way.

Gloria Borger: Yeah, but a lot of voters don't, you know? And you can't—

Castellanos: It doesn't have to be unanimous.

Borger: Look, I mean she can't blame—

Castellanos: But, look, she's very good at playing the professional victim until she gets up closely—

Borger: Right.

Castellanos:—and then can put a knife in your ribs.

Toobin: I don't—

Castellanos: She is—

Toobin: I don't think she's saying—

Castellanos: There is no weakness in this lady.

Toobin: I don't think she's saying that the whole problem with her campaign is due to sexism.

Borger: Right. She can't say that.

Toobin: And it isn't. Clearly, she had many problems in this campaign. But was there sexism and is there sexism in the coverage of her? You bet.

Donna Brazile: Absolutely. No one would disagree with that. But I would—

Toobin: Well, Alex does.

Brazile: Well—

[Laughter]

Brazile: Alex has a problem with this woman. But, clearly, I don't think that's the issue.

[Hillary Sexism Watch: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, Thirty, Thirty-One, Thirty-Two, Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four, Thirty-Five, Thirty-Six, Thirty-Seven, Thirty-Eight, Thirty-Nine, Forty, Forty-One, Forty-Two, Forty-Three, Forty-Four, Forty-Five, Forty-Six, Forty-Seven, Forty-Eight, Forty-Nine, Fifty, Fifty-One, Fifty-Two, Fifty-Three, Fifty-Four, Fifty-Five, Fifty-Six, Fifty-Seven, Fifty-Eight, Fifty-Nine, Sixty, Sixty-One, Sixty-Two, Sixty-Three, Sixty-Four, Sixty-Five, Sixty-Six, Sixty-Seven, Sixty-Eight, Sixty-Nine, Seventy, Seventy-One, Seventy-Two, Seventy-Three, Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five, Seventy-Six, Seventy-Seven, Seventy-Eight, Seventy-Nine, Eighty, Eighty-One, Eighty-Two, Eighty-Three, Eighty-Four, Eighty-Five, Eighty Six, Eighty-Seven, Eighty-Eight, Eighty-Nine, Ninety, Ninety-One, Ninety-Two, Ninety-Three, Ninety-Four, Ninety-Five.]

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Pick Up Your Teaspoons

Shaker RKMK noted in comments that CNN's Quick Vote is asking: "Do you agree with Sen. Hillary Clinton that the press has ignored sexism in the campaign?" Right now, it stands at only 41% Yes and 59% No.

Let's see if we can't fix that, shall we?

CNN: Front page; righthand sidebar, about halfway down.

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No Surprises

Clinton wins Kentucky; Obama wins Oregon. More calls for Clinton to drop out of the race.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

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Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Green Acres



And check out the Grape Nuts advert at the end.

The more things change...

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It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's...

From Gizmodo:

As former chess champion Garry Kasparov was giving a speech to unite opposition political forces, a radio-controlled penis flew across the room to some applause and laughter. The fun was ended when a dour-faced man smashed the penis out of the air. That's always the case, isn't it? Some guy's having fun with a flying penis when someone joker just has to ruin the party.

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Clash of the Titans

Tonight's the night, Shakers. The long, hard-fought campaign comes to a close. No, I'm not talking about that business in Kentucky and Oregon; who knows what the hell will happen there. I'm talking about the showdown in Hollywood. Tonight is the final night of competition on American Idol's seventh season.

I know you've all been following my weekly American Idol posts closely and… what? I got busy, okay! I meant to write about it every week, but I was interrupted by painting and picking out duvets and shopping for matching lampshades. Next year, I promise.

Just so you don't feel cheated, here's my recap of the last ten weeks: Bye. Buh-Bye. Bye. Finally! Really? Buh-bye. Bye. Bye. Later. Goodbye.

So, who has survived Simon's witty bon mots and Paula's drunken ramblings? Who are our champions? Whose cuisine will reign supreme?

On one side we've David Archuleta, fresh-faced Mormon boy and Mitt Romney supporter. He's young, he's cute, and I am pretty sure he may be the Antichrist. And his opponent? David Cook, a hip twenty-something emo kid who somehow managed to sing an Our Lady Peace song on national TV and not get voted off: he may be made of Teflon.

Who will win the coveted spot as the seventh American Idol and the sweet record deal that comes along with the tiara? My money's on Archuleta. He's gonna pull in the vote from every teenaged girl and chickenhawk from here to Salt Lake City. He's cute. I'll give him that. He sucks, but he's cute. And that's about all that matters here.

I know lots of people like him and think he's the best thing since tube socks, but I am going to be honest: the kid gives me the creeps. His aww-schucks-oh-wow-golly-you-like-me-you-really-like-me routine comes across as little more than contrived, and when he wins I'm sure we'll see more of the same. And let me tell you, I ain't buying it.

Here's why: In 2004, he was on Star Search. He later went on to win Star Search 2 (and the $100,000 grand prize). He's appeared on TV shows as diverse as The Jenny Jones Show and The Early Show and even managed to get back stage at Idol season one and sing for that season's finalists. He's traveled around the world singing. All of this to much praise. So don't go pretending you're surprised people like you, kiddo. You're not a shy little kid from Utah, you're an overachiever with a conniving stage father, and really, that's not very charming.

But what about his competitor, David Cook? He's certainly more likeable. He's certainly the better singer. His performances have been consistent throughout the season (unlike Archuleta who's been hit-or-miss). And at the very least, Cook has been trying to do something different, in his own emo-pop sort of way, and is one of the most interesting performers the show has had in a long while. And while his unconventional arrangements of oldies like "Billie Jean" and "Hello" might make for great television, I don't think that will carry him to the top spot.

Tune in tonight to see how it all plays out. Or not. There's a Lost rerun on ABC.

(Cross-posted.)

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Question of the Day

It's that season—prom season! Multi-question QotD: Did you go to any of yours? What was your theme?

Senior Prom, "Moondance" (Van Morrison) was the theme, my date in that pic is my (now) husband :-)

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Feminism 101: On Anger

This may be the shortest Feminism 101 post I ever write.

Here's the thing: To a subjugated person (yes, this, like most of my F101 posts, can be easily modified for application to most oppressed groups), anger is perfectly rational.

If you have even the merest capacity of imagination, it shouldn't be difficult for you to conjure your emotional reaction if you were, for example, told your entire life that you are equal, only to have the opposite be communicated to you in big and small ways every minute of every day, or if, as another example, there were people who argued that they should have control over some significant function of your body, that they needed to rob you of personal autonomy because they can make better decisions for you than you can for yourself, or if, for instance, you made less money for doing the same job someone else is doing for more, just because of some arbitrary physical feature, like, say, the color of your eyes.

If you are indeed in possession of the capacity of imagination, you have no doubt concluded by this juncture that these scenarios, coupled with a lack of immediate recourse, might make you angry.

So the idea that a feminist/womanist with demonstrable anger is somehow nutz is actually quite stupid.

Here's the other thing: If you are a genuine ally to feminists/womanists, you will never, ever, criticize a feminist/womanist's tone for being "too angry."

And you will never do this because, if you are a genuine ally, not only will you have internalized an understanding of the perfect rationality of the anger expressed by feminists/womanists, but you will also share that anger.

How can you look at a cultural landscape of institutionalized inequality and not be angry, right? I mean, if you're a genuine ally and all.

And, if you are, you'll be glad for that anger, because you know that the opposite of anger, for a progressive, is complacence—and there can be no progress if everyone is perfectly complacent with the way things are.

Progress is dependent on people who get angry, because anger—productive anger, motivating anger, directed anger, rational anger—is the root of all progress.

Feminists/womanists and their allies know that change comes by virtue of anger.

Progress ain't fueled by rainbows and gumdrops.

If you're not angry, you're probably not helping.

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"A Murder of Morality"

[Trigger warning.]

Tata just sent me this article with the note: "There's so much going on here I can't put together a sentence about it." I don't know how well I'm going to do myself, but I'm going to give it a try.

The article is about the "honor killing" of 21-year-old Sunita Devi, 21, who was pregnant, and her 22-year-old boyfriend, Jasbir Singh, in Balla, India. The couple was dragged from their room, driven away in waiting cars, strangled, and their bodies laid out "on the dirt outside Sunita's father's house for all to see, a sign that the family's 'honor' had been restored by her cold-blooded murder." The reason? Devi and Singh had fallen in love, but:

Among the Jat caste of the conservative northern state of Haryana, it is taboo for a man and woman of the same village to marry. Although the couple were not related, they were seen in this deeply traditional society as brother and sister.

And, perhaps more importantly:

Growing economic opportunities for young people and lower castes in Haryana have made "love marriages" more common, experts say, and the violent repression of them has risen in tandem as upper caste Jat men fight to hold on to power, status and property.

So Devi's father, uncle, two cousins, and another man killed them. (Some suspect Devi's father has confessed to the killing to protect other family members, but, in either case, he supported the murder of his pregnant daughter and her boyfriend.)

Devi and Singh were childhood sweethearts, and had already been in love for years when her family married Devi off to another man, whom she left a year ago to run away with Singh. So, the whole situation could have been avoided if they had been allowed to be together in the first place—but Singh was from a lower sub-caste. When the two eloped and Devi got pregnant, her family was ostracized.

"Nobody would drink water in our house," Sunita's mother Roshni is reported to have said. "My daughter's action made us aliens in our own land. But we have managed to redeem our honor. She paid for her ill-gotten action."

Meanwhile, police are under enormous pressure from the village to drop the case and Singh's family has been threatened with "the same fate" if they pursue justice.

"We are being pressurized into reaching an agreement, a compromise, without even being given time to grieve," said Jasbir's 25-year-old sister Neelam. "We have been told that if we don't compromise, we will suffer the same fate."

In the narrow alleyway outside their tiny house, women wailed in grief. A few hundred yards away, the panchayat sat in quiet self-satisfaction.

"The people who have done this should get an award for it," said 48-year-old Satvir Singh. "This was a murder of morality."

This is just such an unmitigated clusterfuck of misogyny, classism, poverty, and privilege, it's hard to know where to begin. There are so many institutional biases at work, working in catastrophic concert to put pressure on everyone involved. That's not to say that the murders were justified; to the contrary, they are unjustifiable, but it is an indictment of the system and tradition that the people who committed them could not live a fully functional life in a village of intimate interdependence without the heinous act.

Before I turn it over for discussion in comments, I just want to note one thing about Reuters' coverage: The picture of the bodies that accompanies the story really struck me. I'm not certain of its purpose: Would readers not have understood the horror of a double-murder for the "crime" of seeking a life of love in freedom unless the story were told with a gruesome picture?

And further, I sincerely doubt that Reuters would have published an image of the white bodies of Jane Doe and Jack Smith, if the story had been about, say, an Indiana couple who was murdered by the girl's family for similar reasons—which is hardly unheard of (though we try to pretend we're above such things by not calling them "honor killings" and imagining ourselves all members of a giant middle class). That the photo of the corpses was included in this case (as an editorial decision, irrespective of the availability of the bodies being made available for photography, which generally doesn't happen in America) strikes me as a nefarious little bit of Othering, as well as a reflection of an existent double-standard.

Discuss.

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Not a Zero Sum Game

Shapeling and Shaker Sweet Machine forwarded me this article from The Times—helpfully filed in the "Education" section, despite having "girls" in the title—about a new report from the American Association of University Women which has found that girls' gains in the classroom have not come at boys' expense, contrary to the claims of the folks diligently promoting the "Boy Crisis" for the past few years.

Echoing research released two years ago by the American Council on Education and other groups, the report says that while girls have for years graduated from high school and college at a higher rate than boys, the largest disparities in educational achievement are not between boys and girls, but between those of different races, ethnicities and income levels.

…Linda Hallman, who became executive director of the university women’s group in January, when the work was well under way, said the report was an effort to refocus attention on what she said were the real problems of education for poor and minority children, and away from a distracting debate about a so-called boys' crisis. Ms. Hallman said the group's members were concerned about arguments by conservative commentators that boys had become disadvantaged and were being discriminated against in schools intended to favor girls.

"Many people remain uncomfortable with the educational and professional advances of girls and women, especially when they threaten to outdistance their male peers," the report says , citing Christina Hoff Sommers's 2000 book, "The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming Our Young Men."

Wait a minute—educational gaps being more directly attributable to race and class than sex? People promoting an imaginary sex-based crisis having an anti-feminist agenda and using dubious reasoning to come to their conclusions? Say it ain't so!

It seems to me, however, that I've heard those points made somewhere before. Where oh where could that have been, I wonder…?

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Random YouTubery: Kafka - The Rock Opera

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Name That Cult Movie

Wow, I haven't done one of these in a while! Nostalgia is good! For those of you that haven't seen this game before; here's how you play: Read the quotes, and put your guesses in comments. Wow, really tough, huh? I'll be posting the answers tomorrow. And remember, every time you cheat by looking at the IMDB, baby Jebus cries.

1. "Hello! Hello, hello! Here I am with a flying saucer in my lap, not to mention an escaped convict, and I can't get this phone to work!"

2. "I am Ergo the Magnificent! Short in stature, tall in power, narrow of purpose, and wide of vision, and I do not travel with peasants and beggars. Good bye!"

3. "Those guys aren't even giving us a hard look."

4. "You've overstepped your line again, Bub. There's a creator's highest law that keeps you in your dark place and yet you and your brethren still insist on coming into this world and trying to steal a place in the world of the living. When will you ever learn?"

5. "Who the fuck hit me?"
"Batman, motherfucker!"

6. "Where is the Mr. Pibb? I told your secretary to pack Mr. Pibb. It's the only Coke I like. Goddamn Brenda exploding like a water balloon, worms driving my friends around like they're goddamn skin-cars, people are spitting acid at me, turning you into cottage cheese, and now there's no fucking goddamn Mr. Pibb?"

7. "No, no, more of the funny show, the little puppets hitting each other! That's what I like! Little things hitting each other!"

8. "Would I be correct in thinking that you can neither see nor hear me? Then I'd like to tell you that you smell of pee. You look like the wrong end of a dog. And I swear, if I don't get my Tristan back as he was, I'll be your personal poltergeist!"

9. "Paul, this is more important than selling ice cream! There's clowns running around killing people; we're all in danger!

10. "Send... more... paramedics."

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OMG Shoez

My birthday present from Petulant just arrived:



OMG Kitteh Shoez!!!
Not only are these shoez ten shades of adorable awesomeness, they are also as comfortable as any shoes I've ever owned. But don't let the cutitude and practical foot comfort fool you: These shoez are for badasses.



Thank you, Pet! I love them!

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