Electric Lib

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... NOT

Oh, my title is so cleverly infused with both a Christmas classic and what would be, if I said it outloud, a reference to Borat (the scene where he tries to learn "not" jokes). Anyhoo, thanks a lot global warming for ruining Christmas! I suppose that in thanking global warming I should also thank myself for driving, heating my home, buying products from companies that are probably destroying the earth and being part of a country that elects a president so stupid that he won't even recognize that it's a problem. Oh, if we had only elected Gore. Maybe the "Inconvenient Truth" wouldn't have been a movie, but it may have been on our list of concerns. Thanks a lot United States. Geez.

Anyways, in keeping with the debbie downer and Christmas theme, I'd like to mention a stupidly offensive movie title I saw recently. I will preface by saying that my final paper in sociology this semester focused extensively on the use of language as a tool to normalize racism, sexism and various other forms of discrimination in our country. However, I've heard that people are apparently beginning to recognize that words like "Black Market" and similar expressions are offensive. So, I was shocked when I saw a stupid Christmas horror movie titled "Black Christmas." Although I'm sure the movie producers didn't "do it on purpose," there's really no excuse. The fact is that they used the word "black" as a synonym for "evil." Whereas it immediatly makes you think of the antithesis "white Christmas" which, although it relates to snow, is supposed to be the Christmas that everyone hopes and wishes for. So basically they're continuing the tradition of using language as a mechanism to normalize racism. But I'm sure it won't have a huge effect, I don't think Americans really like watching gory horror movies, especially ones that star attractive young women, such as this one......................................... NOT!

First Semester: Complete

I awoke at around 6:30 this morning, just in time to turn off my alarm before it started ringing obnoxiously (it sounds like this: WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH). I made myself a nice cup of hot chocolate, ate some dry cereal, because I cannot afford milk and there's no point in buying it now anyways, and got ready to go to my final. I walked down in the pleasant, cool morning air and arrived at my theater final (which, because it was my last final, got about 25% of the studying time that it should have), filled out an evaluation and took the final. The final itself probably took 25 minutes to complete because it was 100 multiple choice questions--very easy. Then I turned in my 16 page, revised econ paper, sold back my books and walked home. Upon completing all these taks, this tune popped into my head, despite the gray actuality of today's weather, "GOOD DAY SUNSHINE.... GOOD DAY SUNSHINE..... GooooD DaaaY SuuunShiine." Anyhow, now I'm up early and have a whole day ahead to do anything but school work..... Although I may do some school work, because there's some extra credit I could do. But the point is I finished a wonderful semester today. Oh and just to pat myself on the back a little more, I didn't miss a single class. Not one. Not even in the class where attendance wasn't required. I take very seriously the notion that Santa is always watching.

That reminds me of one of my favorite New Yorker cartoons (that I wish I could find to link to) in which a man and a woman are in bed and the man is "sleeping" and the woman looks over and says "I know when you are sleeping, I know when you're awake." It was amusing.

The Naked Bike Ride: A Reflection

If the University ever wanted to make an annoucement that would reach all of the students, they should do it at the naked bike ride, because I'm pretty sure every resident on Athletic Campus was present, lining the snowy streets and walk ways to ogle and laugh with permanently shocked faces at their peers dashing by naked. Being the socially conscious school that this is, a fair amount of the riders had "livable wages" written on their backs. Anyways, it was quite a site, mainly because of the sheer number of people that showed up to watch.

Naked Bike Ride

I was walking down the street earlier tonight on my way to study and I was all bundled up, with the wind blowing gently in my face and I thought how lucky I am to be wearing so many layers. It would really suck to be outside in minimal clothing. In fact, it would be dangerous. Then it dawned on me... Tonight is the naked bike ride. People will be naked out in the cold tonight, for an extended period of time. Because in Burlington, it is legal to be naked in the public, as long as that's the way you came outside, you cannot just undress in public. Anyways, I will go outside to laugh and be shocked for five minutes, but I will not participate beyond that. I can hear the wind howling from my room and I would rather not die of hypothermia. Plus, I already had my hot chocolate for the night.

I was just researching for my social inequality paper, and I meant to just do a quick overview of some of the events in history that have helped to shape the atmosphere of inequality that has been institutionalized and normalized in our country today with regards to race and gender specifically, and I got a little off track. I was researching women's history in the U.S. and stumbled upon a list of some impressive political ladies in the U.S. I don't know anything about some of them except that they were the first to achieve whatever they did. Here's the list:

Jeanette Rankin, Montana, 1917: first woman in house of reps

Shirley Chisholm, 1968: first black woman elected to house of reps

Hattie Caraway, 1933: first woman elected to senate

1925 first female governors elected (Texas and somewhere else)

Frances Perkins, first woman cabinet member (under FDR)

Patricia Roberts Harris (under carter), first black woman in cabinet

Sandra Day O’Connor, 1981, (under Reagan) first Supreme Court Justice

Nancy Pelosi!

Because everyday is women's history day!

Ooh, listen to my theory. The real reason that terrorists attacked us was so that our government, which they knew to be very conservative, would start giving up our freedom and liberties, and eventually go so crazy and power hungry that it would resemble a dictatorship and other countries would have a reason to come take the crazies out of power and turn us into a developing nation that wouldn't bully anyone. Very elaborate scheme.

I don't actually think that, I'm just bored with my reading. Which is about terrorists and 9/11. Ok... enough imagination, back to work.

"Say the Word, and Be Like Me"

Word of the day: contemporaneously. It's just such a long word, I read it in an article for class and had to mention it.

In other news, I impressed my professor today with an expertly made imovie about the Cherokee. That was fun. Also, I ran two miles, spaced by a five minute walking period. It was most wonderful. Speaking of, UVM was ranked as one of the fittest schools in the U.S., and Burlington was ranked (by Self magazine) as the fifth healthiest city out of 100 American cities (the first being Honolulu). What a wonderful place!

My Brain is Bursting With Knowledge

Here's an interesing thing I just learned, although I'll quickly tell you why I thought to look it up first, as it is a little obscure. I got an email about an anthropologist named Tudor Parfitt who is coming to UVM soon to speak about his study of the Lemba tribe in South Africa that claim to be one of the lost tribes of Isreal, aka Jewish. If they were, they would be the only existing tribe out of the Ten Tribes from the northen Kingdom of Isreal. Anyways, I don't know much about this topic, but I thought it was interesting. They recently found evidence in the Y chromosome which makes it very likely that they are indeed who they claim. I guess that changes the stereotype of the Jewish appearance, huh? Anyways, it's easy to find online if you type in "Lemba, South Africa."

In other news, I am now an unofficial expert on the uneven development between the U.S. industry and Japanese industry. I am just flooded with assignments at the moment, as it is almost finals time, and it's very exciting in a stressful kind of way. Also, just to talk about myself a little more, I was very intrigued after my social inequality class yesterday and a film we saw featuring Bell Hooks, and my enthusiasm for feminism, although it never faded, was reawakened! All these papers have gotten by brain going!

Finally, I would like to mention that it is world AIDS day, as you may have seen on google. If you're interested in AIDS, there's a movie called "A Closer Walk" narrated by Glenn Close and Will Smith that I saw a clip of the other day and it's very powerful, I plan on seeing the rest at some point.

P.S.- if you don't believe in global warming, take a trip to Vermont... It ought to convince you. I should not be 60 degrees on the last day of November.