Randy Newman: "Mama Told Me Not To Come"
This Is (Soon To Be) a Real Thing in the Real World
by Shaker hallelujah_hippo
Speaking of beer... Molson Coors has realized that, apparently, not enough women drink beer. So they're aggressively attacking the problem by changing up their marketing, treating consumers that identify as women as individual human beings with variations in taste and interest, and starting a dialogue about the nuances of human experience and differing relationships with brewed beverages.
Whoops! Just kidding! They're actually making a pink, low-alcohol content, sweet beverage to attract all of us with ladee-brainzTM! Animée also comes in a pale yellow and clear variety and is designed to allay women's fears of bloating, weight gain, and appearing too masculine.
I first ran across this (barf-tastic) news over in today's Skepchick Quickies and read more about it here.
My only quibble with the discussion at the second link is that it lacks some nuance: There is nothing wrong with liking pink, with liking sweet things, or with being feminine; the problem for me is propagating the idea that all women (and only women) like these things, regardless of what the subject/product is.
Assvertising
[Trigger warning for sexism; objectification.]
Via Copyranter, a charming advertisement from Lighthouse Brewing Company, which, according to its YouTube channel, was produced by a company called Politically Incorrect Entertainment Inc.
Two white dudes sit on a beach in slatted chairs, with a table between them on which sit two beer bottles, a la the ubiquitous Corona commercials. They are ogling a thin white woman in a bikini who stands at the water's edge with her back to them.I think this is supposed to be a parody of beer commercials, but, the thing is, beer commercials are beyond parody. This just looks like rank misogyny, of the sort that necessarily implies all men are horrible human beings.
Guy 1 leans over to Guy 2 and says: "So what would you rather have—ice cold Lighthouse Beer, or her?"
Guy 2 says: "Are you kidding? It's great beer." They high-five each other. "Sheesh," says Guy 2. "She's hot, though. I'll give ya that."
"Yeah," says Guy 1.
Voiceover, as the camera lingers on the woman's ass in close-up as she bends over: "Lighthouse Brewing: Celebrating women in bikinis since 1998."
Breaking Bad Open Thread
"What the fuck is this methhead bullshit?"
Sunday's episode will be discussed in infinitesimal detail, so if you haven't seen it, and don't want any spoilers, move along...
Number of the Day
$39 billion: The increase in spending on corrections nationally in the US, from $11 billion to more than $50 billion, in the last two decades.
Between the "war on drugs" and for-profit prisons, 1 out of every 100 adults in the US is now incarcerated.
[H/T to @SharkFu.]
The Password Is: Jobs
I never expected hope and change to feel so underwhelming:
President Barack Obama is finalizing a jobs package that could include a program to refurbish school buildings nationwide and tax breaks to encourage firms to hire workers.I mean, yeah. These are mostly not terrible ideas. But they're also not dynamic ideas, or big ideas, or bold ideas, or brave ideas. They have neither the capacity to inspire, nor to be particularly effective in reversing an economic crisis the profundity of which has not appeared to penetrate the bubble-wrapped heads of the Beltway elite.
The package, to be unveiled in early September, is Obama's chance to convince skeptical voters he can bring down the 9.1 percent unemployment rate and steer the United States away from another recession -- ahead of next year's election.
...The president is widely expected to repeat his calls for an extension of a payroll tax cut, push for patent reform and bilateral free trade deals, and suggest an infrastructure bank to upgrade the country's roads, airports and other facilities.
Retrofitting schools with energy efficient technology would allow the government to directly hire for labor-intensive work and also give a boost to the clean energy sector that Obama has said could be an important U.S. economic motor.
Other measures being considered, according to economists who have advised the White House, include tax credits for firms hiring more workers, funds for local governments to hire teachers, and retraining help for the long-term unemployed. Steps to boost the ailing housing market are also under review.
These are center-right ideas suitable for the domestic policy of a milquetoast administration during a sluggish economy. They are not pieces of a grand vision necessary for the domestic policy of a proactive administration during a time of grave need.
For someone who billed himself as a visionary agent of change, President Obama is depressingly uncreative.
"What's going to be included in this plan are some reasonable ideas that could have a tangible impact on improving our economy and creating jobs ... the kinds of things that Republicans should be able to support," [White House spokesman Josh Earnest] said. "These are bipartisan ideas that the president is going to offer up."Oh for Maude's sake.
Apparently, the president still hasn't noticed that the Republicans don't do reasonable. Maybe he should try something unreasonable by Beltway standards for a change. Like being a progressive.
Libya Update
Could be big news out of Libya today: Reuters is reporting that Qaddafi is thought to be holed up in an apartment complex near his compound, and that rebels have him surrounded.
Question of the Day
Following up on yesterday's question... What activity do you only enjoy in the company of others?
Leisure walking. (As opposed to walking to a specific destination.) I've never much enjoyed going out on a walk by myself; I'd much rather go for a bike ride on my own. The one exception is exploring a new city.
But give me someone to walk with, even just my dogs, and suddenly walking is exponentially more enjoyable.
Quote of the Day
[Trigger warning for racism.]
"He needs to get out of politics and make room for an American."—Tea Partier Darrel Clark of Farmington, New Mexico, protesting outside an appearance by Democratic US Representative Ben Ray Luján, who was "born in Santa Fe, has lived in the US all his life, and is the son of a public school administrator and the speaker of New Mexico's state House of Representatives."
Clark later clarified that he meant an "American patriot."
Mm-hmm.
Why people continue to think that the Tea Party is comprised of ignorant racist scuzzballs is the greatest mystery of our generation, I'm sure.
Photo of the Day
This is just a very good picture of Joe the Plumber, Steven Seagal the Lawman, and an American flag. Two red-blooded patriots, who were probably taking time out of an important business meeting about a new film called Patriot Action! to pose for this photograph, and you're not even grateful. These men are heroes, dammit.
[Via Gabe.]
Daily Dose of Cute
This is Matilda sitting next to me on the couch one night while I was watching TV. I don't know about what she was so wide-eyed, but it could have been something on Billy the Exterminator.
I like to pretend this is actually a picture of Tilsy and me on a roller coaster, going up that first hill...
History is Made in Mississippi
Last night, Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree became the first black candidate to win a major-party nomination for governor in Mississippi:
DuPree, 57, a three-term [Democratic] mayor of Hattiesburg, advances to the Nov. 8 general election to face Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, 56, of Brandon.Hopefully, some Mississippian Shakers can tell us more about Mr. DuPree and his policies, as I've no idea how progressive (or not) he is.
...Republican Gov. Haley Barbour could not seek a third term this year.
At press time, DuPree had captured 55 percent of the votes in his runoff against Clarksdale businessman Bill Luckett. ... He told supporters his first phone call after the announcement was to Luckett, whom he thanked for running a "great campaign."
"Hopefully we showed people how to campaign," DuPree said. "You don't have to be nasty and mean. You can talk about the issues and then let (voters) decide."
DuPree said he'll most likely meet with his campaign officials today or Thursday to work out his strategy as his campaign presses forward.
"The strategy probably won't change much from what we've already done," he said. "Right now, I'm just relishing the moment and looking at people who are jubilant and happy. I pray that at the end of the road they'll be jubilant again."
...With a population that's 37 percent black, Mississippi now has more black elected officials than any state in the nation, but it hasn't had a black statewide official since Reconstruction.
Irrespective of his platform, though, it is a big damn deal that he won his party's nomination. Congratulations, Mr. DuPree—and good luck blazing that trail!
[H/T to Shaker Jennie.]
This is so the worst thing you're going to read all day.
[Trigger warning for fat hatred; disordered eating; diet talk; body policing.]
You know, I read a lot of terrible articles about obesity, but this epic garbage disaster really takes the cake (the WHOLE cake in one sitting, get it? cuz FAT!): Study links obesity to brain disorder.
There is so much wrong in that article, I hardly know where to begin. Let's just start with the Top Five Things Wrong With This Epic Garbage Disaster:
1. "Obesity" is not shorthand for "disordered eating." Not every fat person has an eating disorder.
2. Fat people can be anorexic.
3. Treating disordered eating with counseling is not, in fact, an "odd idea." It's a pretty well-established treatment for disordered eating of all sorts.
4. Not all disordered eating is caused by an executive function disorder. That there is a "link," meaning that some people have disordered eating attributable to an executive function disorder, does not make it fair or accurate to say "obese people and anorexics...have executive function disorders (EFD), which means they have problems organising their daily lives."
5. Did I mention that "obesity" is not a shorthand for "disordered eating" already? BECAUSE IT REALLY, REALLY ISN'T.
I love, by the way, that over here fat people's fuckbrainz render them "too flexible and [unable] to solve problems and achieve goals," while over there fat women are making the big bucks because of their mad "unobservable job skills," owing to never getting laid or whatever. WELL WHICH IS IT? Is the fat making us inept nincompoops, or competent workmachines?! Don't keep us in suspense, Science!
Also: Bonus failpoints for reportage on "obese people" using the Othering tone of a 17th century ethnographer.
The people of Obesia have brains unlike civilized man.
Fuck off.
[H/T to Shaker shutupmonica.]
Wednesday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by warm breezes with a hint of anticipation.
Recommended Reading:
ashoncrawley: [TW for descriptions and image of violence; racism] Mamie Till's Memorial
Rebecca: Disparities in Unintended Pregnancy Grow, Even as National Rate Stagnates
Susie: You're Under Surveillance
Angry Asian Man: [TW for racism] A New Stereotype for Asian Americans in Advertising?
Laura: Gender Pay Gap Starts with Pocket Money
Natalie: [Spoiler Warning] A New "Fright Night": What a Difference a Female Screenwriter Makes
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Random YouTubery: 1,500 Photos. 500 People. 100 Seconds.
Video Description: Five hundred people hold 1,500 developed photos, creating a very unique stop-motion film within a film.
[Via.]
Today in Whoops!
Pope Benedict tried to deliver an anti-gay speech this weekend at a World Youth Day appearance in Spain but had to stop when God told him to shut the fuck up.
Oh, you know how God is these days. He's forgone the burning bush of old and now speaks through weather, stains, and other phenomena. (He even emotes through earthquakes according to one rabbi.)
So, anyway, Benedict started giving his speech, when suddenly: "powerful winds and sheets of rain struck, whipping off his skullcap, shaking the stage and knocking over at least one tent." Uh oh and whoops!
The pope fled God's wrath, leaving the stage. The remainder of the speech remained undelivered, but the Vatican assures us it is still valid, whatever that means. No word on whatever became of the pope's skullcap. I'm hoping a goupie got it, like some of Elvis' lint in the '68 Comeback Special.
When reached for comment, God responded with this.
[Cross-posted.]
Today in Rape Culture
[Trigger warning for rape culture; misogyny; exploitation.]
Over at AlterNet, Sarah Seltzer has written a very fine article about some of the high-profile rape cases in which there has been a variety of hostility toward survivors, who find justice elusive. (Disclosure: I am quoted in the article.)
The headline of the article is: "Cop Rapes Woman at Gunpoint, 11-Year-Old Rape Victim Smeared, Accuser Sued for $2 Million: Is US Society Failing Victims?" The subhead is: "What is it with our inability to find justice for victims?" Those are very good questions, the answer to which are found in discussions of the rape culture, which Seltzer does quite well.
Which is what gives a horrible irony to the ads I was served while reading the article:
[Click to embiggen.]
The black-and-white advert is more complex than a screen cap suggests, as it is actually a series of two images—the first showing the girl sitting up and looking at the camera, the second showing her lying on her back, as if to suggest she has succumbed to a sexual invitation.
Treating women as an objectified sex class who exist in a perpetual state of consent and whose bodies are consumable public property is the cornerstone of the rape culture. This sort of exploitative advertising, which perpetuates the rape culture by reinforcing its narratives, is terrible in any context.
But to be obliged to gaze at sexualized young girls (who totes want to have sex with you; you don't even need to ask; their bodies are yours for the taking) alongside an article about women and girls who have survived sexual violence being failed by their society is a special kind of horror.
What is it with our inability to find justice for victims? I wonder.
Number of the Day
[Trigger warning for sexual violence; revictimization.]
$2 million: The approximate amount ("more than $2 million") of claimed legal fees and court costs for which defense contractor KBR is suing Jamie Leigh Jones, their former employer who was raped by her co-workers, after she lost her civil case against them.
Yes, you read that right. They are suing her to recover the fees they spent denying her justice after they bunked her with men who raped her, held her hostage, and forced her to fight an absurd stipulation in her employment contract that required sexual assault allegations be addressed by private arbitration.
Their capacity to violate and betray this woman is apparently endless.
[Via Maya.]
