What's the last experience you had that you delayed out of fear or dread or just expecting to hate it, but ended up being a pleasant experience?
Could be anything, from seeing the dentist to skydiving.
Question of the Day
Shivers
So, this happened last night on So You Think You Can Dance, and I just loved it so much, and I thought I'd share it here for anyone who also loved it and wants to talk about it, or for anyone who doesn't watch the show might enjoy it:
Video Description: Seven young men dressed in matching dark blue wrap garments on their lower bodies, and decorated with smudgy blue paint on their shoulders, perform Travis Wall choreography to Beck's "Wave." They come together in a group, and then move apart, and then come back together, undulating like water. They move in unison, then individually, then in unison again. One of them is thrown above their heads, and flies forward, to be caught by others. At the end, they slowly fall forward off the stage, in a curving row, one by one.
* * *
In the segment before the performance, Travis Wall said (paraphrasing from memory) he thought it would be good for viewers to see boys dance like this. By which I assume he meant: Supportively, emotionally, cooperatively. And I agree.
* * *
The top seven girls also performed a Mandy Moore choreography last night, and they danced it beautifully. It just didn't feel quite as moving to me, to watch young women dancing to Evanescene's "My Immortal," which is a woman singing about a relationship. That's not a criticism of the dancers. It just wasn't of as much interest to me.
Photo of the Day
From the Telegraph's Pictures of the Day for 31 July 2014: A pod of dolphins surf a wave in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. [Stan Blumberg/Barcroft Media]Love. They are so resplendently graceful.
Hell Yes
[Content Note: Animal abuse; guns.]
GOP 'betraying mascot' elephant, animal activists say:
More than 75,000 people have signed a petition protesting the Republican-backed Lawful Ivory Protection Act, which the animal rights activists say would encourage elephant poaching by establishing a market for ivory trade in the U.S.OFFS. OH. FOR. FUCKS. SAKE.
Now, activists are pointing out the ivory irony.
"For years, the GOP has proudly held up the elephant as a mascot for their party — but when it comes to protecting these gentle giants, it seems Republican lawmakers are willing to betray this majestic animal," the petition says.
...The GOP bill comes in response to a new rule from the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that bans the trade of all ivory, including ivory that was obtained legally decades ago before rules against poaching elephants came about.
That means that antique guns and musical instruments that were made with ivory at a time when it was fashionable in the 19th and early 20th centuries could no longer be sold, even though the owners could still pass them on to family members.
Republicans say it is unfair to retrospectively ban the sale of antique items contain legally acquired ivory, but the FWS and many animal rights activists argue even demand for antique items encourages poachers to continue killing elephants and "undermines the attempt to crack down on the demand for poached, illegal ivory."
...But this comes as little comfort to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), sponsor of the Lawful Ivory Protection Act, who last week warned the Obama administration may be trying to "take away our guns" with the ivory ban.
The petition notes: "The lives of elephants are so much more important than the ability of collectors to buy and sell antique firearms," but of course nothing—nothing—is more important than guns.
Meanwhile, note the breathtaking mendacity that Alexander is arguing this legislation is a backdoor attempt to "take away our guns" when the legislation is specifically about selling those guns.
Tell ya what, conservatives—you go ahead and keep your ivory fucking guns (nobody tell them they were going to get to, anyway) in exchange for giving up your elephant logo. I've even designed a brand new one for you, which I offer you free of charge.
Use it in good health, bozos.
Welp
[Content Note: Surveillance.]
"CIA improperly accessed Senate computers, agency finds." Whoooooops!
CIA employees improperly accessed computers used by the Senate Intelligence Committee to compile a report on the agency's now defunct detention and interrogation program, an internal CIA investigation has determined.Well. That's sure a nice way of putting it.
Findings of the investigation by the CIA Inspector General's Office "include a judgment that some CIA employees acted in a manner inconsistent with the common understanding reached between SSCI (Senate Select Committee on Intelligence) and the CIA in 2009," CIA spokesman Dean Boyd said in a statement.
Daily Dose of Cute
This is Matilda's chair, and don't even think you're gonna be able to sit here.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: Human rights violation] Wow: "Environmental activists from West Virginia on Wednesday delivered more than 1,000 gallons of bottled water to residents of Detroit, where more than 15,000 of the city's poorest people have had their water shut off... Bill DePaulo, with Keeper of the Mountains Foundation, drove a U-Haul truck to carry 1,080 gallons of water paid for by donations from West Virginians [many of whom still aren't drinking the water from their own taps after a coal processing chemical spill in January]. He arrived on Wednesday morning at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, one of four water distribution centers in the city, giving out about 300 gallons in just a few hours. ...'To come from West Virginia and to drive a truck with tons of water in it and to come up here and help folks is a pure act of love and solidarity,' said Detroit community activist Maureen Taylor. 'This is what America is. This is what we are.'"
[CN: Rape; violence; reproductive coercion; anti-immigrant sentiment] Jack Jenkins and Esther Yu-Hsi Lee have a powerful piece at Think Progress profiling one of the many asylum-seeking undocumented immigrants arriving in the US: "Meet Carolina, Who Brought Her Daughters 1,500 Miles to the U.S. So They Wouldn't Be Raped." It is tough but important reading.
[CN: Anti-immigrant sentiment; racism; hostility to consent] In one of the grossest examples of how Republicans are willing to exploit and further harmpeople like Carolina and her daughters, Rep. Michele Bachmann is peddling a gross theory, based on a thoroughly mendacious interpretation of the medical care of a child, that undocumented and unaccompanied children "fleeing violence in Central America who have come in large numbers to the southern U.S. border: they are future victims of a liberal plot to use unwilling children for medical experiments." Utterly contemptible.
[CN: Illness] Sierra Leone has declared a state of emergency following the worst-ever outbreak of Ebola, which has killed 729 people in West Africa so far. "The outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever, for which there is no known cure, began in the forests of remote eastern Guinea in February [and has claimed lives in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone] but Sierra Leone now has the highest number of cases."
[CN: Misogyny] US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg basically says that the male justices can't sufficiently empathize with women.
NEAT HEADLINE! "Books test market for Hillary Clinton hostility." Let's roll out some shit smearing a prominent woman for the explicit purpose of measuring people's hostility toward her. Cool books, bro.
And finally: Here is just a terrific video compilation of dogs sleeping. Oh dogs.
Today in Rape Culture
[Content Note: Sexual violence; rape apologia.]
One of the most pernicious lies people tell in asserting there is no such thing as "rape culture" is this: Everyone agrees that rape is terrible.
After RAINN made their absurd statement earlier this year undermining the notion of the rape culture, Caroline Kitchens wrote a piece for Time, titled "It's Time to End 'Rape Culture' Hysteria," which included a passage that is perfectly indicative of this lie:
In January, the White House asserted that we need to combat campus rape by "[changing] a culture of passivity and tolerance in this country, which too often allows this type of violence to persist."Rapists are despised.
Tolerance for rape? Rape is a horrific crime, and rapists are despised. We have strict laws that Americans want to see enforced. Though rape is certainly a serious problem, there's no evidence that it's considered a cultural norm. Twenty-first century America does not have a rape culture; what we have is an out-of-control lobby leading the public and our educational and political leaders down the wrong path. Rape-culture theory is doing little to help victims, but its power to poison the minds of young women and lead to hostile environments for innocent males is immense.
Well, some rapists are. Especially the ones who hew closely to the Law & Order: SVU central casting description of a swarthy monster who jumps out the bushes to prey on innocent, beautiful strangers.
But rapists who look like—or literally are—the boy next door, rapists who are boyfriends and husbands and fathers, or girlfriends and wives and mothers, or bosses or classmates or free speech heroes or film stars or admired athletes, or even just good-looking, they're not as likely to be despised. Or even believed to be rapists at all.
Roman Polanski gets awards. Woody Allen has stars lining up to be in his pictures. And Mike Tyson, a man who was not merely accused of rape, but who was tried and convicted and served time for raping Desiree Washington, gets a biopic made of his life starring an Academy Award winner:
Having already played the corner man to one of the greatest boxers of all-time, Jamie Foxx looks ready to get back in the ring to portray one of the most recognizable boxers and sports figures of this generation.Of course it shouldn't.
Sources tell Variety that Foxx is attached to play Mike Tyson in an untitled biopic that Terence Winter is set to pen. Rick Yorn, who is Foxx's manager, is shepherding the project and will produce.
The package is still coming together and is currently without a studio, but once the final details are ironed out and it is presented to the market, it shouldn't be hard to interest a distributor.
The piece goes on to call Tyson "one of the most polarizing figures in sports" with "a rough around-the-edges personality," before briefly mentioning that, in the 1990s, his "life began to spin out of control, including a six-year stint in prison after being found guilty of rape."
He also "made headlines" when he "bit off part of [Evander] Holyfield's ear." His history of domestic violence, and subsequent rape charges, are not mentioned.
"In recent years," we are told, "he has kept out of trouble."
Some rapists are despised. And some rapists are rehabilitated. By which I mean: Their crimes both forgiven and all but forgotten, in order that they may be adored once again.
Mike Tyson will forever be an interesting figure in terms of the rape culture, and the narrative that we all condemn rape and despise rapists, because he is notable for having been convicted of the crime. There's no wiggle room for rape apologists to say, "He hasn't been convicted of anything." He has. Yet despite the conceit that convictions will silence apologists, Tyson's conviction hasn't.
To the contrary, he's still not even regarded as "a rapist," but a man whose life spun out of control, including having to serve time for being found guilty of rape. Just one of many reckless mistakes he made. Oopsy.
We need to get honest about this. Not all rapists are despised. And that is, from where I'm sitting, pretty damning evidence of a culture that tolerates rape, just as long as it's committed by someone we want to like.
WHUT.
[Content Note: Homophobia.]
I don't even know:
A "social media strategist" for a Utah school serving foreign students said he was fired after his school's owner reprimanded him for the allegedly gay connotations of a blog post concerning homophones, the Salt Lake City Tribune reported.So, the owner of a school which teaches English as a second language doesn't know what homophones are, and thus assumes that everyone else will not know what they are, despite the whole point of the post being to explain what they are, and believes that people who see it will associate their school with "gay sex."
"People at this level of English may see the 'homo' side and think it has something to do with gay sex." the owner, Clarke Woodger, allegedly told Tim Torkildson while firing him last week.
Torkildson reportedly was hired as a teacher at Nomen Global Language Center in Provo this past April 1 before being re-assigned to handle the school's social media. Torkildson gave his account of the meeting with Woodger on his personal blog.
"I'm letting you go because I can't trust you," Woodger allegedly said. "This blog about homophones was the last straw. Now our school is going to be associated with homosexuality."
Woodger also allegedly complained that he didn't know what homophones — words that sound identical while having different meanings and spellings — were, and that it was the kind of "advanced stuff" Nomen did not teach its students. He also accused Torkildson of not being reliable enough to continue working for the school.
"I never have any idea what you're going to do next. I can't run my business that way," Woodger said, according to Torkildson. "You'd probably make a great college professor, but since you don't have a degree you'll never get that kind of work. I would advise you to try something clerical, where you'll be closely supervised and have immediate goals at all times. That's the only kind of job you'll ever succeed at."
Okay. Well, for the record, if I saw a post about homophones, I would not have presumed your school was associated with "gay sex," but having seen that you fired someone for writing about homophones and that the owner of the school doesn't even know what they are, I do presume your school is stupid and run by a jackass.
Which, I can only guess, given this reaction, is preferable to being thought of as tolerant.
So...congrats?
Once upon a time, I taught an ESL conversation class, and I had a major homo agenda. Not only did I teach homophones, but also homonyms.
Dr. Willie Parker
[Content Note: War on agency; class warfare; racism; religion; descriptions of abortion.]
Esquire has a profile on Dr. Willie Parker, a doctor who flies into Mississippi from out of state in order to provide abortions at the state's last standing abortion clinic, which the state is trying to close down: "The Abortion Ministry of Dr. Willie Parker."
I'm not even going to excerpt it. Just go read the whole thing.
Thank you, Dr. Parker, for what you do.
[H/T to Robin Marty.]
Question of the Day
When was the last time you went swimming?
As always, "Never" or "I don't like swimming" are perfectly cromulent answers. I'm also aware that there are people who have traumatic experiences with water/swimming, or body policing/swimwear, and those are on topic; just be sure to use content notes as applicable.
I think the last time I went swimming was last summer at a local community pool. I can't believe it's almost August and I haven't made it over there once yet this year. Boo! I need to make that shit happen.
Fat Fashion
This is your semi-regular thread in which fat women can share pix, make recommendations for clothes they love, ask questions of other fat women about where to locate certain plus-size items, share info about sales, talk about what jeans cut at what retailer best fits their body shapes, discuss how to accessorize neutral colored suits, share stories of going bare-armed for the first time, brag about a cool fashion moment, whatever.
Out on a recent date night.
The only even remotely recent purchase in that shot is the jacket, which I got during a great sale online at Maurices. It's still available for purchase here. The sequined tank I got at Avenue a million years ago; the jeans I got at Torrid sometime last year; and the grey ankle boots I got from Naturalizer, probably two years ago.
All four of those places are currently having online sales or specials right now, hence using this picture!
A lot of online joints that sell plus-size clothes are having good summer sales right now. ModCloth is having a terrific 70% off sale. Simply Be has a code you can use for 25% off your first purchase there. Roaman's is having their annual summer blow-out sale.
Are any of your favorite places offering great deals at the moment? If so, spread the word!
Naturally, comments don't have to be restricted to talking about sales. The usual happy shares, advice solicitation, complaints, whatever, are all on-topic, as ever.
Have at it in comments! Please remember to make fat women of all sizes, especially women who find themselves regularly sizing out of standard plus-size lines, welcome in this conversation, and pass no judgment on fat women who want to and/or feel obliged, for any reason, to conform to beauty standards. And please make sure if you're soliciting advice, you make it clear you're seeking suggestions—and please be considerate not to offer unsolicited advice. Sometimes people just need to complain and want solidarity, not solutions.
They're Not Laughing with You...
[Content Note: Misogyny.]
Earlier this week, Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said in a speech that women should not "laugh in public" in order to demonstrate sufficient chastity:
"A man should be moral but women should be moral as well, they should know what is decent and what is not decent," Arinc said in a speech on Monday, in the western Bursa region for the Bayram holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.He also said: "Chastity is so important. She will not laugh in public."
"She should not laugh loudly in front of all the world and should preserve her decency at all times," he added.
And in what has to be my favorite pushback campaigns of all time, women in Turkey (and women of Turkish extraction living elsewhere) have taken to social media to post audio of themselves laughing and pictures of themselves smiling: "There have been more than 300,000 tweets using the term "kahkaha"—the Turkish word for "laughter"—and on the hashtags "Resist Laughter" (#direnkahkaha) and "Resist Woman" (#direnkadin)."
LOVE.
Quote of the Day
"Stop being mad all the time. Stop just hatin' all the time. Let's get some work done."—President Barack Obama, addressing Congressional Republicans who are threatening to sue him over his use of executive actions.
1. The Republicans are such mendacious fucks. They constantly obstruct the President's and the Democratic Party's legislative measures, and then they accuse the President of overreach when he's left with no option but to get things done via executive order.
2. I love it, LOVE IT, when President Obama shit-talks the GOP.
The Wednesday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by falsettos.
Recommended Reading:
Kath: [Content Note: Harassment; abuse; stalking; misogyny; fat hatred] It's Time for Us All to Break the Silence
Aoife: [CN: Transmisogyny; cissexism; violence; objectification] America's Got Abjection: The Trans Subject as Sacrifice, from Stage to Street
Jess: [CN: Violence; exploitation] On Ray Rice's Suspension and Whom the NFL Cares About
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged.
On the Renisha McBride Case
[Content Note: Murder; guns; racism.]
The trial of Theodore Wafer, the white man who shot and killed Renisha McBride, a 19-year-old black woman who sought help at his front door following a car accident, is now underway.
Over at the Black Youth Project, former prosecutor and founder of LegalSpeaks.com Debbie Hines writes about the steep uphill battle to secure justice (and I encourage you to read the whole thing, because I'm excerpting just a small bit of a great piece here):
As a former prosecutor, I'd like to think that justice will prevail for Renisha McBride who was seeking help following a car accident when she was shot and killed. As a woman of color, I have my lingering doubts. The trial began for the man accused of murdering Renisha McBride, who knocked on his door in the early morning hours of November 2, 2013. Instead of helping her, Theodore Wafer came to his locked door and shot her in the face. The undisputed facts are really quite simple. But in the criminal justice system, a case involving a black woman victim and a white male defendant will be anything but simple.Got that? The defense doesn't have a way to defend their client's actions because Judge Hathaway "denied the defense attorneys' request to present social media photos of McBride posing with an apparent gun and marijuana."
...What really bothers me is the fact that Renisha McBride will be on trial along with Wafer.
...Defense attorney Cheryl Carpenter argued before Judge Dana Hathaway, "our defense is blown to pieces if you don't allow me to argue to the jury that she could have been up to no good."
Does this sound familiar? It should. Because that was the exact same shit that George Zimmerman's defense pulled at his trial for murdering Trayvon Martin.
Even though Judge Hathaway denied Wafer's defense team these particular ways of putting McBride on trial, they are still endeavoring to put her on trial all the same. McBride was intoxicated at the time of the accident and at the time she came to Wafer's door.
Clearly, this is not a justification for being murdered by a fearful man who literally shot first and called police afterwards.
Let us hope the jury doesn't buy this reprehensible victim-blaming that the defense is presenting as justification for their client's murderous instincts.
Daily Dose of Cute
Ears!
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
