And so it continues...

A clip from CNN I found on Feministing.com confronts the ways in which the McCain campaign continues to exercise their sexist logic. While I, of course, am not a fan of Sarah Palin and her stance on basically everything, I most certainly am interested in doing what Campbell Brown suggests the McCain campaign should do -- that is to say, FREE SARAH PALIN!



Amen, sister...

Back to Business

My last few posts have basically been "filler" to clog my blog up with something mainly to keep myself in some, although sporadic, rhythm of posting. Because let's face it -- my head has not been set on actively blogging. So much for taking the summer to beef this blogging project up. Oh well. I am finding a trend in my blogging; despite being wrapped up in grad school and all the ridic that it entails, I blog more when I am in the mindset of reading, writing, thinking critically, etc. Not only did I physically take a vacation this summer, my brain, while not taking what I'd call a full vacation for there was no numbing or hard drugs involved, and my knowledge-building energy went to a different, not-so-academic place. Granted my thesis and all things M.I.A. were not far from my mind (hell, she "retired"!), I found myself retreating and gravitating towards books that allowed me to build upon aspects of personal growth that aren't as easily, or at all, tapped into while in grad school. While this past school year I found myself forming so many new ideas that not only made "the personal political" regarding my own identity politics, I leapt and bounded ahead towards an academic career and community, that I could not be more excited to pursue. That being said, this semester I am tapping into a new, yet not completely foreign area of study that has always been on my "to do" or "to read" lists. To further expand upon and perhaps in a sense remedy my immature ideas on feminism, feminist aesthetics, and my self-identification as a strong woman, I am enrolled in two courses (the only courses I am taking this semester) addressing these issues. And, truly, what an exciting time to do it! Hold your breath. I am not going to slide into a rant on Sarah Palin ( but, god, do I want to!!!!). There are multiple reasons I am leaving this ordeal to continue to fester in my brain. So, I can't make any promises regarding future posts. But to squash the ability for thIS post to easily turn in a diatribe on Palin's and McCain's disgusting display of pseudo-feminism and the mainstream media's coverage of it, I am stopping here, for I need to read before my TA class in 30 mins. However, I will leave you all with the notes and letters of other women addressing these oh-so-prevalent issues being discussed: http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/

Tell me why, oh why...

Despite this week being the week of the Republican National Convention I am feeling uberly optimistic, and I feel like sharing the wealth :P

My life is gearing up the semester, and I couldn't be more excited! Granted this excitement will more than likely turn into panic, I am looking forward to stomping through this semester and the rest of the school year. Bring on the thesis, coursework, TAship, PhD applications, and conferences! Ok, writing all those tasks out just made me want to retreat back to the summer days of sitting on the couch watching BravoTV for hours on end. But I will persevere! And I'm going to have a great, neurotic time doing it!

Obsessing over E!'s Obsession with Kim Kardashian's ASSets

While I haven't been writing on my own blog, I have been writing for another!

Check out my article on FlowTV.org, the online journal I volunteer for. Leave comments and tell me what you think!

"One good thing about music, when it hits...

...you feel no pain". Sure, this Bob Marley quote is probably one of the most over-used sentences listed on people's "Favorite Quotes" section on their Facebook profiles. Nonetheless, I'm feeling a bit awestruck by the ability for some songs to completely change your mood. That said, this just makes me smile:



You can catch more candid performances by a range of other musicians and groups at LaBlogotheque. Late Friday night/ Saturday morning after returning from my evening excursion, I easily spent a good two hours or so watching videos on their site. Oh, alcohol-inspired, musical moments by myself in the wee hours of the night -- a common occurrence in my life. And I love it.

Hi to the Hiatus

Must start writing more...why I haven't been? I really do not have any good excuse. Plus, nothing particularly interesting has happened to me in the past few weeks. Well, perhaps I am lying --I have traveled from Indianapolis to NYC to Chicago to Austin to Dallas to Austin in the month of July. And don't get me wrong -- adventures were had in all places and, thus, contributing to my hiatus. But I don't have a single good explanation as to why I have not been posting since I have been back in Austin (almost two weeks now). Oh, well! Life when it seemingly isn't busy is busy. Now, with all that said, I don't have any major media/ life. shennanigan commentary to attach to this posting (I just woke up -- brain is not functioning in witty mode, yet). However, what I will attach is proof of my travels. Just a few photos from my cross-country excursions:






Just a small taste of my NYC and the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago experiences. Indeed, fun was had and money was spent! Back to "work". C'est tout pour maintenant!

Whew!

Crisis averted...Macbook up and running. Yes, this is a bit late of an update and, yes, a lot of stuff has been going on in my whirlwind of a life, but I thought since I made such a fuss in my last posting I should address the status of the comp. But this is assuming anyone really cares, which I am sure isn't necessarily the case. Nonetheless, blogging is quite narcissistic and, therefore, I am giving any of my blog readers the benefit of the doubt ;)

Now that the update is covered let's get to the crux of this posting: I was raised in where Forbes.com is currently claiming to be the number one place to raise a family. Check out the article -- I ain't lyin'. Corn-fed and well-bred! That's what goes down in the Hamilton County! And lucky for me I grew up in the county seat aka Noblesville, IN, where our high school mascot is a Miller... yes, a glorified farmer. I am a bit curious as to how one can measure this finding over an extended period of time. Sure, I see the value in gauging a city's (or in this case county's) worthy-hood of being a place to raise kids by looking at crime stats, air pollution, cost of living, and the local school systems. But you must also look at the underlying characteristics of such places these levels of criteria give you. I mean -- you can live in BFE, middle-of-freakin' nowhere with no one to potentially rob you, where housing is inexpensive (because no one wants to live there), and where the air is clean because there isn't a single person for miles around. Granted this isn't exactly what Hamilton County is like, you have to take into consideration the aspects of the world and living you don't get or have access to when you live in Noblesville, IN, Suburbia Kansas, or any of the other places on the Forbes list. And I'm not only talking about the convenience of urban amenities. I'm talking mainly about the diversity of opinions, lifestyles, racial and ethnic demographics, political stances, etc. -- the list could go on. Growing up with surroundings that can challenge you to think out of your comfortable, suburban bubble, I think will keep you more open-minded in the end. Obviously, the aim of this Forbes list isn't to tell prospective or current parents where to raise their children to be challengers of the status quo...unless you are a fluke and one of the Haddad kids...