twilight?
I read Twilight a while ago, and didn't really think much of it, except that the characters were awfully dumb and useless. And that only teenage girls who'd never talked to boys before and thought vampires were really cool would like it. Or idiots.
I didn't read the rest of the series, because I'd just learned my lesson with the Rift Wars books. I read the first book, and even though it was clear that the author thought "Hey! I like Lord of the Rings! I like Sword in the Stone! And hey, I think Japanese culture and warp holes and aliens are cool too!", and even though the main players flipped personalities halfway through, and even though all the women were weird cardboard characters, I still read the 2nd, and then the 3rd out of sheer stubbornness before I gave up out of exhaustion.
Anyway, back to Twilight.
Now that there's a movie coming out, all sorts of reviews and comments are surfacing about it. And because I have a lump of coal instead of a heart, I think the mean ones are awfully funny. Enjoy!
http://www.defectiveyeti.com/archives/002631.html
http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com/go_fug_yourself/2008/07/fug_the_cover_the_twilight_cas.html
http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com/go_fug_yourself/2008/10/fug_the_poster_twilight.html
new house
We moved a few weeks ago into the new house. And that's where all the free time for projects has been going.
So far, we've:
- fumigated (pros did this)
- refinished the floors (pros did this)
- painted the 2 back bedrooms (including the ceiling)
- painted the hallway ceiling
- tore the chair rail, trim, and painted wallpaper off the living/dining room. This was pretty not fun, especially since I decided to try stripping the trim before giving up and letting S tear it down.
We still have yet to:
- finish plastering, then paint the living/dining room
- replace roof, windows, get furniture ...
I spent part of this weekend digging up my sewing supplies and making temporary curtains out of leftover silk noil (bathroom) and muslin (kitchen).
hazebow
Seen at dusk on the way home today, colors exactly like this, but with more luminescence.
It hasn't rained here for 5 months, so maybe the rainbow refracted off of the wildfire haze. If you look closely, there's a faint double rainbow on the outside.
the Jocelyn at BurdaStyle
Seems like all the exciting things are happening all at once!
Remember my tab-waisted-top design submissions to BurdaStyle?
The Jocelyn is now featured on the homepage! They did a beautiful job with making it into reality, and the styling and photography is lovely. See the project page itself for the photoshoot and pattern.
I'm bummed that I can't make it right away. I've packed away all my sewing supplies for at least the next month ... because one of the other exciting things that's happened is that we are buying a house and will be moving soon.
It sounds so weird to say "the Jocelyn". Ha ha ha. Try it with your own name.
feminist studies?
I was having a conversation the other day about the disadvantages women face in the workplace. I was trying to make some points, then realized that while I have general knowledge about things, I have no facts to back them up. It was also tough to rebut things because there seem to be a lot of generalities (women tend to do childrearing, women tend not to go into math/science, etc) and because I went to an engineering school where all the women were high-achieving math nerd pre-meds.
Things I think I know, but don't know why:
- There are less women than men in the workplace because the modern (American) workplace does not accommodate people who have childcare duties, and these people tend to be women
- Women doing the same work as men tend to be paid less and tend to be promoted less
- There are less women in math/science because the educational culture is geared towards different models of learning (not sure about this one). There is also a higher attrition rate for women -- a smaller % gets a bachelors, masters, phd, asst professorship, etc.
- Women are more likely than men to leave the workforce when they have kids ...
- partially because of cultural expectations, but also (these days) because they have the lower paying / less important job ...
- but they made a conscious choice to pursue a less lucrative career ...
- but career choices women make are affected by a culture that has ascribed specific gender roles
Women's studies were never part of the curriculum at school, and while I find gender studies news articles, discussions, and radio bits fascinating, I rarely follow up to the source after the initial read. Any recommendations for not-so-academic readings I should do? Any basic facts I should know for sure?