Saturday, August 21, 2010

New contender for hipster of the year.

Riding his bike while playing the harmonica. Yeah.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Science! Attractiveness! Graphs and charts!

It's been reported everywhere already (or do i just read iPhone-sex-friendly media?), but I've had a request to blog about how iPhone users have more sex. Actually, this whole post from OkCupid is really interesting.
It's actually not that hard. Use a decent camera. Go easy on the flash. Own the foreground. Take your picture in the afternoon. Then visit the nearest Apple store. Done.
I'm super into statistics with sociological explanations. Oh, you already knew that from my links to Freakonomics and Sociological Images? Right.

Eating like my ancestors.

It's bread from the Bible! So of course I had to buy it.

Ezekiel 4:9 says, "take wheat and barley, and beans and lentils, and millet and spelt; put them in a single vessel and make bread out of them." And then, it turns out that it's a complete protein! (I didn't know about this until I started eating lunch with my health teacher friend, but they are healthy.)

This is so interesting. The Trader Joe's checkout lady said it's eating like my ancestors. (I mean, religious ancestors? Sure.) But I'm always interested in how they knew it was going to be healthy, before all this science. I believe there are combinations in many cultures (rice and beans come to mind) that are also complete proteins. Hang on while I fact-check. (Later edit: Yes. Every successful culture in history has had a complete protein as a part of their diet. I mean, I have no citation for this, but take it for what it's worth.)

"There's no crying in baseball."

Loving jezebel's "a league of their own: an appreciation" today.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

mermaid-normative.

Interesting points on the Little Mermaid post on Jezebel. It's a little video, via Buzzfeed, of Ariel's advice to girls - such as, "You should always find a stranger to obsess over, and then genetically modify yourself for that stranger." As always, I like to link to Jez because of the comments, which get into a lot of what the message of Disney princess films is, and whether it's good or bad for kids who like them.
If you watch little children re-enact these stories or ask them to summarize the plot of the movie, or watch them when they're pretending to be a princess, or even look at the successful merchandise associated with the films, it's clear that to little girls, the prince is as essential to the Disney narrative as Ken is to Barbie's world--ie, a fun accessory or source of extra storylines, but not a central point at all.
[comment]
But should we be concerned about the messages these movies have, even if kids watching don't realize it? Belle was always one of my favorite princesses, because she reads and stuff. I dressed like her last year for Halloween, which was excellent and also appropriate for the school dance. One of my coworkers, though, pointed out that Beauty and the Beast is about, you know, loving a guy even if he's a beast. Because he'll turn out sweet on the inside! After he kidnaps you!
I wonder what would have happened if Ariel had come out as lesbian, for example. Would King Triton still lovingly oversee her wedding?
[comment]
Right?! Now, please recall that I have ALWAYS said that TLM is a coming-out allegory. Okay, the blog evidence is sketchy. But I definitely explained the concept of heteronormativity to a friend using the part of TLM in which King Triton finds out Ariel's in love, and he asks, "Ariel? In love? Who could the lucky merman be?" His language, in this case, is mermaid-normative. Don't you remember being uncomfortable about that, even as a kid? Because he's assuming she's dating a merman, and we know she's not. Just like I'm trying not to assume my friends are dating someone of the opposite gender. See how that works?

Anyway, Little Mermaid forever.

Monday, August 09, 2010

One of my favorite StoryPeople stories came.

I finally got to exactly where I wanted to be, she said, so why won't all these growth experiences go away & leave me alone?

Sunday, August 08, 2010

I heart Ira Glass.

Often, when I'm talking about This American Life with any random people, I think of this.

Friday, August 06, 2010

"maybe he's right. maybe there IS something the matter with me."

BAHAHAHAHA i forgot itunes was on shuffle, and it went from "if she knew what she wants" by the bangles [80s pop = serious getting ready time] to "part of your world" from the little mermaid. of course, i knew what had happened after 2.5 seconds. good old itunes shuffle. [cartoony-NSFW link that is related.]

i'll get back to you on the little mermaid as coming-out allegory. seriously. the disney version only, for all you hardcore original creepy fairy tale fans.

Thursday, August 05, 2010

i am cool and awesome.

so today, i had a taste of how awesome my life could be.

i was at a workshop that started at nine. close to my house. and i have margaret's car. and guys, there is something about leaving my house when it's already light out, and people are outside by choice [not, like, because their dog jumped on them to go outside or they have to go to work so so early] that makes me feel so, so happy. what if i had to be at work at nine every day? i could, like, let the birds chirping wake me up.

so as i was leaving the workshop, this guy pulled up next to me just blasting some very emotional rock music. it wasn't "it's been a while" by staind [i know, sooo 2001], but it was a song very much like that. so just imagine that's what it was. and he had his windows down, too, and his music was so loud that i couldn't hear my NPR story. and then i didn't want to be all awkward, because i knew he'd see me if i started blasting all things considered and it was all, "I'M MAURA LIASON. IN WASHINGTON TODAY..."

so i just waited until we started moving again. i wasn't really following the story very well anyway. and i am cool and awesome.

p.s. okay, i research my blog posts. just a little. and the wikipedia page on "it's been awhile [sic]" is a prime example of why wikipedia is hilarious and awesome. i'd like to especially point out the use of "probably," as in "probably the band's best-known song," and the super-serious discussion of the lyrics. i'm confident this will remain unchanged when you click the link later on.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

clean ALL the things?

this is how i feel when i try to be responsible and productive.


someone recommended hyperbole and a half to me the other day. i was so excited. like, out of the ENTIRE internet, you recommend to me a blog that i just discovered? it's like running into an acquaintance on the street on the way to the doctor's office downtown, which ALSO happened to me this week.

i recently thought of a perfect one-liner for my "about me" thingy on facebook. now i've forgotten it. seriously?