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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
Miriam's LiveJournal:
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| Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 | | 7:18 pm |
holidaaay
fyi, i would be more than happy to receive absolutely anything in this post on feministing this holiday season. | | Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 | | 12:49 pm |
| | Sunday, November 11th, 2007 | | 11:52 pm |
sometimes researching for my thesis is emotionally exhausting
actual quote from testimony from a doctor in support of abstinence-only textbooks in Texas in 2004: "My colleagues would think I am foolish if I were to advise those who smoked to use a shield at the end of their cigarettes to limit their exposure to smoke. And my colleague would certainly think I was foolish if I counseled diabetics that ate too many carbohydrates in their diet to purge themselves after meals. What we all know in these circumstances is that sound reason tells us to encourage better behavior, such as not smoking and changing dietary habits. In the landscape of teenage sexual health, the only reasonable approach is abstinence-only. Offering condoms, contraceptives and other barrier methods in no way addresses the root of the problem, namely, teenage sexual activity and promiscuity." i try to keep my objective hat on when i listen to this testimony; part of the goal of my thesis research is to examine, explain, and get to the deeper heart of discourses that i disagree with but dominate the educational scene, especially in texas. i honestly believe that people support abstinence education for what they believe are good, altruistic reasons, and that those same people genuinely think - and not entirely always without understandable reason - that "comprehensive" programs harm children. i genuinely want to understand fully why, and I think sometimes i make small breakthroughs in my own mind that expand my own opinions. but that a doctor - a practicing *doctor* - would claim that advising a sexually active teen to use contraception is medically comparable to advising a diabetic to purge carbohydrates makes me sad and angry. it's hard for me to listen to willful misrepresentation of accepted medical facts (because, health-wise, a diabetic puking up doughnuts is not the same thing as a teenager using a condom and birth control); it's difficult for me to listen to the members of the Board of Education verbally applaud this doctor while i can hear notes of mistrust and even hostility in their voices in questions directed at doctors who support the other side. i know i'm for the most part preaching to the choir, but this isn't about patting myself on the back because i have All The Answers. it's just hard to try to understand people who say things certainly out of the best of intentions that at first glance seem to me baffling and outrageous. but i guess that's all part of the challenge of my topic. | | Monday, October 8th, 2007 | | 1:32 pm |
| | Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 | | 1:22 am |
more fun youtube nostalgia and related bits
Viacom is a jerk and took down the last Sesame and muppety clips I last posted, so here are some more for your viewing pleasure. Watch 'em before Viacom continues to be a jerk. Kermit visits Reading Rainbow - Levar is suspicious when he runs into Kermit in the pig section of the local library. ABCDEF...Cookie Monster! - A little girl knows how to push Kermit's buttons. Adorable, hilarious, and totally unscripted. The Batty Bat! - Still as catchy and awesome as it always was. Sing it with me now - "One, two, three, spread out your cape..." C is for Cookie - Who cares about the other things? Cookie Monster appears on Martha Stewart Living, Parts 1 and 2 - If you watch nothing else from this entry, watch these. This is the most hysterical thing involving Cookie that I have ever seen. Hilarity (for the viewer, not for Martha) mounts as Martha increasingly has no earthly idea how to deal with this thoroughly uncooperative, manic force in her kitchen. Edit: How I Miss My X - I totally forgot who was looking for this clip, but I remember very clearly someone asking about it. Anyway, here it is - Patti LaBelle sings about missing her beloved X. | | Saturday, August 18th, 2007 | | 1:16 am |
Superbad
is awesome. You should run, not walk, to your nearest megaplex and make this movie successful, because we need more comedies like Superbad. I had to make an lj post about why I loved it so much, but alas, my kfelling must contain spoilers.
| | Monday, July 23rd, 2007 | | 1:41 am |
| | Saturday, June 16th, 2007 | | 12:56 am |
knocked up and the a-word
Contains sorta-spoilers, but nothing you probably care about. So I went to go see Knocked Up, and it was very funny. On the humor front, it about met my expectations. But there was another aspect that I found decidedly lame. A while ago, when the trailer first arrived, I was totally pumped. Another Apatow movie! And it looks funny! I played it for my roommate, who, halfway through, rolled her eyes and groaned something like, "Brought to you by the Pro-Life Association of America." "Oh, come on, now," I indignantly replied. "Just because this movie is about a successful, ambitious woman deciding to carry an unplanned pregnancy to term doesn't mean it's anti-choice. I mean, she's choosing to have her baby. The whole point of choice is that you can do either one." Mal grunted, unimpressed. I paid no attention, sure (or hopeful, anyway) that the film would approach the issue of abortion even-handedly. Sigh. I should be glad, I suppose, that abortion came up at all. I was a little worried that the filmmakers, avoiding a difficult topic, would opt instead to present pregnancy as an inevitable and irrevocable sentence without acknowledging the options that so many people have fought so hard to keep. But it (thankfully?) did come up, if briefly, and I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that I was disappointed with its presentation. Early in the film, Katherine Heigl's character, Alison, is having lunch with her mother after having broken the news. Now faced with a difficult decision - carry to term or abort? - Alison turns to her mother, whose opinion is clear. Mom tells Alison about another woman (a sister? I don't remember) who was faced with the same situation. "And," her mother intones, leaning in, " she got it taken care of." Around the same time, Ben's (Seth Rogan) stoner friends irreverently advise him that Alison get a "shmushmortion" (one character doesn't want to hear the actual word, so they self-censor). Ben looks disgusted and troubled, storming off with his thoughts. I still believe what I said before - a movie about carrying an unplanned pregnancy to term doesn't have to vilify those who take the other option. But this one does, if not absolutely directly. There is much talk of taking responsibility for one's actions and doing the right thing as characteristic of a decision to keep the baby. Mom's suggestion to get it "taken care of" carries a decidedly ominous note, and it's a bit of a relief when we learn of the tearful outcome of Alison's struggle. Our ambitious career girl has bitten the bullet and made the right decision in the face of pressure. The whole business should have been handled much better. Screentime isn't the issue; although abortion deserves at least a mention, a movie about pregnancy obviously doesn't have to be a movie about abortion, and a quick no-thanks would have absolutely sufficed as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, it's not like it's always an easy decision, and portraying it like one would have been disingenuous. But it's deeply not okay to portray abortion as an immoral and irresponsible decision, an act of cowardice so shameful that it does not even deserve to be mentioned by name. Having (and wanting) babies, and being willing to make sacrifices for them, does not make anyone a better person. It doesn't make anyone more honorable, more willing to "take responsibility for her actions," more worthy of respect than someone who decides that bringing another life into the world isn't the choice that she wants to make. And it could have been handled differently - mommy could have said, "I know someone who had an abortion, and it was really the right choice for her, but may not be for you. I'll be there to support you no matter what you decide." Anyway. I'd like everyone to stop thinking about abortion like it's the most unmentionably horrible thing you can ever do as a human being. Then again, I'd also like a pony that poops rainbows. | | Thursday, June 14th, 2007 | | 2:30 am |
*gasp*
I know I am going to jinx myself doing this, but please, please, please someone get this for me for my birthday. It's a TWO-DISC SET. Including FOOTAGE RECENTLY FOUND AT JIM HENSON'S HOME IN ENGLAND. ::eyes bug out:: | | Tuesday, May 8th, 2007 | | 7:52 pm |
MEMO
Attn: Everyone who wears a belted tunic and leggings. You look stupid. Please let the 80s die in peace. P.S. Get ready to be ridiculed by your teenage children. | | Monday, October 2nd, 2006 | | 1:57 pm |
It really was better.
So I've been YouTubing nostalgia - that is, old Sesame Street shorts. They were, and are, so unbelievably awesome. Here are some of my favorites. Heavy and Light - Kermit and Grover HILARIOUSLY demonstrate the properties of heaviness and lightness. Would You Like to Buy an O? - Ernie is accosted by a singing letter pusher. Put Down the Duckie - Classic song, celebrity guests. Ernie learns that in order to play the saxophone, he's got to let go of his best buddy for a few minutes. I'd Like to Visit the Moon - Ernie reflects on the merits of returning home after travel. Inexplicably, this song to this day gets me teary-eyed. Dance Myself to Sleep - Ernie dances himself to sleep, with the help of some tap dancing sheep. Bert's commentary really makes this one. "Oh, not the bugle..." Doing the Pigeon - Classic. Bert dances. Count it Higher - YA GOT TO COUNT IT HIGHER! Onnnneeeee twoooooo threeeeee fouurrrr fiiiiiiive! The key change gives you goosebumps! | | Tuesday, August 8th, 2006 | | 4:46 pm |
on american soil for the first time in 8 weeks
Crowds of rude fat people never looked so welcoming. I'm currently in Miami, waiting for my connecting flight. I should be home, HOME home, in some 7 or 8 hours, after two more planes, for the first time since the new year. That's seven full months, longer than I have ever been away from San Antonio in my life. I will be so, so glad to be home. Full Spain post to come when I have more time to sit, think, and reflect; namely, when I am back at my house. In other news, it looks like American Idol is not going to work out after all due to a knee injury. My left knee is being ornery, and my parents theorize it could be a torn meniscus (spelling on that?) or a tendon or something, but whatever it is, it should be seen immediately because sometimes the erratically appearing pain makes me gasp. And if I want to be honest with myself and really think about it, a large part of me doesn't care enough about the experience to endure a stadium full of obnoxious hopefuls and a day-long process that begins at 5 AM. If I advance even the slightest bit, I'll get shuttled from one producer to another and have to sign lots of paperwork and temporarily wear out my voice for basically no reason, because I'd be entering a competition I have no desire to win. I am happy enough just to be home for the short time I will be there. I want to catch up on drawing, arrange a lot of songs, and maybe paint some. And see friends, and have my birthday. San Antonio folk, give me a ring if you are around. | | Saturday, July 29th, 2006 | | 4:23 pm |
idol frivolity
I am now speaking English. Hooray. I will include a Spain update soon, but I am still in Spain, so I don't want to sum up my Spanish experience until it is actually over. The program ended this morning, but I'm touring about with the padres until I finally regresar to the states on August 8. That said, newest piece of ridiculous news in my life: American Idol is holding auditions in San Antonio when I will be home. To wit: Why the hell not? It's not like I have to travel, and it'll be a fun story. And it's also kind of exciting in a way. I mean, as a disclaimer I have to say I fully understand that the odds of making it through the first round are like a gazillion to one and have little to do with talent and much to do with luck. I am not sure what the translation is, but the Spanish word tonteria (i can't use accents on my dad's computer; forgive me, language nerds) adequately describes this endeavor. It's just a fun idea. So with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek I am going to do my damndest to register and audition. I have no idea what I should sing. Comments and suggestions are welcome; I am partial to stuff that is jazzy or bluesy. | | Thursday, June 29th, 2006 | | 6:17 pm |
Madrid
¡Hóla, amigos! Aquí estoy en la Puerta del Sol en Madrid. No tengo mucho tiempo en mí tarjeta aquí, pero todo va muy bien en España. Fuimos a Málaga, Nerja, Sevilla, Toledo, Córdoba, y ahoro estamos en Madrid. ¡Que bella es España! Aquí en Madrid, he ido al Museo del Prado y los jardines, y muchos, muchos cafés y discoteques (me encanta bailar). Todos mis amigos aquí son barbaros ("awesome" en español). Todavía es orientación, pero clases empiecen el Lunes. Voy a escribir más en León. ¡Adiós por ahora! | | Sunday, June 11th, 2006 | | 1:56 pm |
thailand, dia 1
Hola, amigos! Lo siento que no puedo poner accentos en las palabras. No estoy segura como se hacerlos en esa computadora. !Aqui estoy en Krabi, Thailand (creo que el nombre es el mismo en espanol)! Me estoy alojando en el Sheraton Krabi Beach con las Pitches, y todo es bellisima! Hace mucho calor, pero es muy verde. El avion perdio mi equipaje (creo que esa es la palabra), y por eso no tengo un espanol-ingles diccionario - hay mucho que quiero decir que no puedo ahora, y ya he usado mucho tiempo en la red, y cuesta dinero. !Escribire mas tarde! | | Thursday, June 8th, 2006 | | 10:20 am |
el viaje empieza
Bueno, amigos, ha llegado el momento. Tomorrow morning, bright and ri-fucking-cockulously early, I leave for my eight-week jaunt around the world.
So, as you can see, I will be back in SA sometime in early August. When I get a clearer picture of when that is, I will let y'all Texas folk know. As soon as I finish this journal entry, I am going to drop off my computer in storage, so no more immediate internet access for Miriam. I will be limited to internet cafes and the computers in the Universidad de Leon. Also, the prof in charge of my program wants us to limit our internet access to as little as possible, under the (probably correct) assumption that if we're online, we're using English, and such scandalous immersion-destroying activity is to be discouraged. I am going to do my part to really minimize the amount of English I speak this summer, and so when I update my lj this summer (which hopefully should be sort of frequently, since i do want to keep you lovely people posted) I am going to do my best to update in (probably really bad, but hopefully gradually improving) Spanish. Please comment on this entry to let me know if you do NOT want to have a random language you don't understand occasionally popping up on your Friends page, and I will subsequently create an "International Summer 2006" filter for everyone who didn't respond and who, I will assume, wants to be included. Or someone could offer to translate. Whatevs. In any case, the next time I see a computer, I will be in Asia. Love to all. See you all in the fall or in August!! | | Wednesday, May 24th, 2006 | | 5:41 pm |
| | 4:29 pm |
| | Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006 | | 5:51 am |
i haven't written a 20 page paper since high school
hopefully this one doesn't suck. also now i can finally, finally go back to thinking of Matilda as just my favorite book and not something i'm analyzing to death. also because i was lazy, i have three sources for my 20 page paper. i feel like that's really problematic. oh well. Current Mood:  exhaustedCurrent Music: birds chirping in the courtyard. good god it is light out | | Sunday, May 21st, 2006 | | 6:20 pm |
book meme
The idea is, you pick ten of your favorite novels, look them up on Amazon.com, and find the list of Statistically Improbable Phrases for those novels. Pick a few SIPs from each novel, list them here, and then have people guess what books they are.EDIT: I have added hints for the two that are left. They are the two hardest. 1. leaden circles, solitary traveller - HINT: This novel is by another author already featured in this list. In 2002, it was featured prominently in a film about the author that spanned three different time periods. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 2. green breeches Matilda by Roald Dahl 3. insomnia plague, banana company, siesta time One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 4. chocolate river, cacao beans Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl 5. enchanted hunters, glass lake Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 6. fine tomorrow To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf 7. cat head - HINT: This graphic novel is set in Chicago. (This is the hardest one; I'm not sure where they got the SIP.) Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware 8. silkworm box, fifth chromosome, carpet muncher Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides 9. lukewarm sea, cantilevered terrace, stone angel Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut 10. jynnan tonnyx, new hyperspace bypass The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Hints: There are two author repeats (that is, two authors have two books represented each). One is a graphic novel. One wasn't originally written in english. Two are children's books. I don't think I'd get most of these. They're pretty hard. |
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