1. Well my life has finally calmed down a bit...but starting next week we've got stiz probes for opera, and then the actually opera performances, and my research paper and AGHHH. So it was pretty short lived.
2. I've felt a bit like I was hit by a semi for the better part of this week, and last night my cold took a turn for the worse. I literally had to blow my nose ever two minutes and couldn't get to sleep until 5 yesterday morning (ELIZABETH WHY DIDN'T YOU RESTOCK THE NYQUIL YOU IDIOT?!?) All things said and done, I am glad my cold decided to pick this week to knock me flat, because I absolutely CAN NOT be sick for the next two weeks. Nonnegotiable, body! You better listen to me!
3. On the downside I've discovered that sneezing every two minutes is very distracting when you're trying to read, which just seems cruel since it's not like I can be productive any other way at the moment. On the upside, I've rewatched half of season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the past day and a half, because tv watching can handle my sneezing. I just rewatched Hush which is one of my FAVOURITE episodes in any tv show ever. For all you Buffy doubters, if you watched this single episode you could not possible doubt the force that is Joss Whedon.
4. I've been thinking a lot about feminism, my role as a female in society, the people I am friends with...basically I've been rethinking a lot of things in my life. A few of you know about some of the scares I dealt with this past summer (I talked about my first stalking on the blog at some point). Other things have happened and right now it still feels a little too personal to talk about in detail (I'm fine! I wasn't harmed at any point, just scared.) To quickly sum up why I've been thinking about all this, I had a really bad reaction to an interaction with a stranger who was...well, any girl who's ever existed has had to deal with these sorts of interactions. It's made me think a lot about the way I hold myself and how I need to change, balanced against the changes I'd like to help make happen in our world. And that I'd like to feel more in control of my situation and should stop putting off those self defense classes I said I wanted to take.
If you have the time to check out these links, they are extremely well thought out and are worthwhile your time. I would also like to warn that all of these links come with a trigger warning.
If you do nothing else, I beg you to click on this link. It is the best explanation I have ever read on how rape culture evolves out of our day to day culture. I mean it expresses every thought I have never been able to consciously put into words about how it can feel to be a woman in our society (any society, really). Read this, read it now!!
Show this to everyone you know - especially the men. A while back I tried to explain to my boyfriend how it felt to be harassed, how terrifying and awful it was, and he did his best to understand. He couldn't really get it though, because most men don't live in constant fear of what half the people on the street might do to them.
The Day the Laughter Stopped - A Powerful Game About a Serious Social Issue - The post contains a link to the game that takes 5 - 10 minutes, and I would highly, highly recommend you play it.
Bodies As Property - A really interesting look at body image
Whew. That got heavy. Look an adorable otter in a laundry basket!
(Why is there an otter in a laundry basket? Don't ask questions just look at how cute he is!)
Speaking of links though, one of my favourite parts of the week is when all the bloggers do their weekly round up of all the great bookish news out there! Then I thought hmmm...what about all the nonbookish things I like to read about? A lot of us have the same interests (I KNOW some of you immediately thought that otter was a Sherlock reference. Don't lie.) So I've decided to add a list bookish AND nonbookish things I've discovered around the web over the past week!
Bookish
Review of Roomis by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando - I haven't actually read the book yet, so I skimmed the review, but Steph from Cuddlebuggery talks about her own experiences with race, books, friendships, and dating. As someone who's in an interracial relationship, I found it all really interesting!
New Throne of Glass Deal - Yay! ToG! Sarah J. Maas! Sarah's other series that's she's writing!
14 Compelling Female Characters Who Need Their Own Novels - I actually haven't read most of these, but I'd definitely be down for a Luna or Eowyn retelling any day.
15 YA Books That Need To Be Made Into Movies - Ok, can we all just agree we need an Abhorsen adaption? Like now?
19 Signs You've Been Reading Too Much YA - Oh I'm all about #12
How to Talk Tough Books to Teen
When YA Romance is Done Right - Nafiza talks about her favourite romances and what makes them great.
Joseph Gordon Levitt's Sandman Gets Relatively Unknown Writer - I've never actually read these, but I really want to, and I'm totally going to see this film.
Slut Shaming part 1 (Author Christa Desir)
Nonbookish
Bookish
Review of Roomis by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando - I haven't actually read the book yet, so I skimmed the review, but Steph from Cuddlebuggery talks about her own experiences with race, books, friendships, and dating. As someone who's in an interracial relationship, I found it all really interesting!
New Throne of Glass Deal - Yay! ToG! Sarah J. Maas! Sarah's other series that's she's writing!
14 Compelling Female Characters Who Need Their Own Novels - I actually haven't read most of these, but I'd definitely be down for a Luna or Eowyn retelling any day.
15 YA Books That Need To Be Made Into Movies - Ok, can we all just agree we need an Abhorsen adaption? Like now?
19 Signs You've Been Reading Too Much YA - Oh I'm all about #12
How to Talk Tough Books to Teen
When YA Romance is Done Right - Nafiza talks about her favourite romances and what makes them great.
Joseph Gordon Levitt's Sandman Gets Relatively Unknown Writer - I've never actually read these, but I really want to, and I'm totally going to see this film.
Slut Shaming part 1 (Author Christa Desir)
Nonbookish
Vegan blogger gets beaten up by bouncer at Dandelion Market (Or what it feels like to be a victim of racism and bigotry in Charlotte, NC)
A perspective on sex workers - A long, but interesting article talking about feminist views on sex workers
Mom's photo series spotlights racist comments at daughters
I'm the Duke University freshman porn star, and for the first time I'm telling the story in my own words - I actually didn't know anything about this incident, which is surprising since it's from my
neck of the woods, but it ties in very well with the previous article.
Olivia Wilde talks about how male actors were bored in gender swapped script read
Your husband doesn't have to earn your respect - An interesting look at the other side of sexism in relationships
Live and Learn - Jennifer from innerworkings of the female mind talks about her experiences as a door to door salesperson and what she learned from it.
Lead actresses get less screen time than lead actresses - I guess I shouldn't be that surprised by these statistics
Bryan Singer talks about X-Men: Days of Future Past - Ahhh I'm so excited for this! It has some of my favourite actors and I can't wait to see the old/new cast interact!
Stanford shows how offshore wind turbines could tame hurricanes - Super neat...I'm all about wind energy, so this is a cool look at what we can do!
She was raped, but...
Disney themed cocktails OH MY GOD I NEED THESE IN MY LIFE. The Bone Daddy? Mushu? Mad Tea? Warlord?? How can I pick? A few of these sound disgusting, but for the most part I am determined to try all of these at some part of my life.
And in honor of my Buffy rewatch...The 16 best answers Sarah Michelle Gellar gave during her Reddit AMA
And that's it for my week! Hope you guys are all staying healthy :)
First of all, 1300 thumbs up for Joss and Buffy and "Hush". Whedon does so many unique and awesome things on that show (it's a travesty it did not get any kind of award recognition) that shouldn't work but instead work SO well. Hush is one of my favorites (though season 4 as a whole didn't thrill me) as well as "The Body" (when Buffy's mom dies) and of course "Once more with feeling". Secondly sorry you've had some bad experiences lately - that sucks. Women's rights has come a long way but there is still a very long way to go. Glad you are finding some support and wisdom online.
ReplyDeleteThose are literally my top three episodes. I read this and was instantly like OH MY GOD YES SO MUCH YES!!! I mean, I know there are probably a lot of other people who love those three episodes in particular, but sometimes I forget that's a thing since mostof my friends haven't watched the show. Yeah Season 4 is all...Rileyish, and I never shipped them. I had forgotten that I ever liked Riley as a character at all, and I'm going to start hating him again soon, but there you are. I'm getting a bit tense because season 6 is no longer looking so far off and my god that season was so hard to get through. I imagine I'll end up skipping a lot of those episodes for pure it's too bleak to go through again reasons.
ReplyDeleteYeah seeing everyone's perspectives online has really helped me to feel keep myself in perspective and at the same time remind myself that I'm not overreacting to things most of the time and that it's ok to be upset about things. Yay internet!
My Buffy boxset is staring at me right now, I swear I'll watch it eventually. I'm trying to get through Psych first lol
ReplyDeleteI hope you're feeling better soon, pesky colds are just so inconvenient :(
And I'm sorry you've had some bad experiences lately. You totally just reminded me that I keep saying I'm going to take self defence lessons and then I never have (well, except for that one time in high school - which was forever ago!) sometimes I feel a bit silly with how paranoid I get, but on the flip-side, my personal safety is important. I think it's hard, when you've had some not so great things happen, to try to get past the fear of it and be pro-active (if that makes sense at all, I feel like my brain just led me in circle).
I'm really sorry to hear about your scary recent experiences. There is nothing worse than having choice and security taken away from you. I hope you are able to heal from them and I am glad you decided to share it with us. I think too often people are afraid to share their experiences and I think we need to honest about these things. They happen way more often than people think. So, thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOkay, can I be mean and say I haven't had the flu since last summer? :D Sorry. That's mainly when I do my re-watches, which usually includes Charmed. It's like comfort food. But, HUSH. Gave me the creeps the first time I watched it, but if it can carry an episode like that with they way it's done, just yes. People can do some scary shit sometimes, and nobody should have the right to make you feel any certain way. And it's not just if something does happen to you, it's also the fear of what could, and the issues that lead from it, and just makes you not feel safe anywhere. Something happened to me last year, and I'm always panicky about buses now, (this is why I need to learn how to drive.), for my own sanity. On a lighter note, Signs You've Been Reading Too Much YA #20 ;) haha, but really #18.
ReplyDeleteHow far in Psych are you? It's such a fun show! Although things have gotten a bit strange, but such is the life of an Amercan tv show. Buffy should be top of your list after Psych though!
ReplyDeleteI'm already feeling LOADS better - looks like a Saturday lie-in was just what I needed (so convenient the cold decide to explode Friday night)
Yeah, I think paranoia is generally pretty justified in these sorts of things. It always makes me feel like I'm overreacting though, as that's what's been programmed in, even (as in both of my harassment run ins) when it's clearly not an overreaction. And I totally know what you mean - that's exactly how it is! So that's where I'm starting - I'm in between the fear and pro-activeness, which is a bit of a conflicting feeling, but it's progress!
Thank you - it really means a lot to me that you said this! Writing about it, or at least working my way up to writing about things is something I think it's important. Being able to read about other people's experiences helps keep mine in perspective, while at the same time really helping to remind me that I didn't overreact to any of these experiences, even if that's my default mode. I'm still trying rewire the way my brain automatically tries to make everything seem like it wasn't a big deal. Just because it could have been much, much worse doesn't mean that it wasn't a big deal.
ReplyDeleteYour immune system is a miracle! I get deathly ill once a year...this wasn't deathly ill, so I'm a bit concerned what it means for me to get a cold right before prime deathly ill season...so hopefully it just means it won't happen this year?
ReplyDeleteOh my god I am TOTALLY with you on Charmed. It was sooo bad at some times, but so addicting! I rewatched all of it last year actually hahaha.
You don't know how to drive?! Until I moved into a city I couldn't BELIEVE people could get by without it! (I lived in a town with no public transit or taxis or anything. You HAD to drive). Yeah, buses can be suuuuper sketchy. I avoid them if I can because man...just. Yergh. So I'm with you. There's a park that is beautiful, but I don't know if I'll be able to handle going back :-/
AHAHA so true right?!? I think a good third of the world feels that way. Where's my letter Hogwarts?? I KNOW YOU HAVE IT.
We've been dealing with a rape in the family and it has been really frustrating to watch the reactions of people, particularly the slowness of the police. But I am afraid that the guy is going to get away with it. And that makes me very angry. People need to make a big deal out of things so that the line is drawn WAY before it gets to rape. You know what I mean? So again, thank you sharing your experiences!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear that! And people just...oh they make me angry sometimes! It's even worse that they often mean well. I hope he gets put away...rape cases are always tough (and they really, really shouldn't be). Best wishes to your family, I know all of you must be going through a really rough time. It's great that you guys are being so supportive, (not all families are) and I hope she (or he) is getting some comfort from that.
ReplyDeleteThank you. She has done better than I expected and she is really trying to not let it take over her life. But it has definitely been rough too. She is lucky that her family is very supportive. I truly love my in-laws.
ReplyDelete