Elayne Riggs' Journal (for Leah)

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Paying it Forward

Kathy Kattenburg had a lovely mention of me at both her own blog Liberty Street and at Shakesville, so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to greet new readers by not only mention that my new column is up at ComicMix (one in which political folks might actually have some interest, as it talks about a complacent press) but by recommending some good reading from the past week:

• Courtney at Feministing passes along the latest study about dieting that finds the same results as pretty much every other honest, impartial study about dieting. Of course, this is only half the battle. We all need to work at making health a higher priority than outward appearance, by (for instance) educating people to understand that skinny people are not necessarily healthier than fat ones

• Speaking of Feministing, executive editor Jessica Valenti has an article in the Guardian about how the web became a sexists' paradise (thanks Echidne!). And speaking of the Guardian, I must say it's disheartening when Shakesville's Melissa McEwan writes a lovely post in their Comment is Free section about online civility and the first comment is along the lines of "I usually think your posts are pointless vitriol but this one makes sense to me so therefore you're acting like a conservative." Many conservatives still don't get that part of being civil is acknowledging that positive qualities like civility aren't confined to their political view (and that, in fact, espousing many of that view's current ideologies can be the very essence of incivility).

• And speaking of civility, Andrea Rubenstein has another superb post about women and gaming, this one about how many men in the gaming community harass and silence women; be sure to read her follow-up as well. And Rachel Edidin continues her series on how sexual assault is depicted in comics, focusing on rape as a plot device.

• Sara Robinson at Ornicus admits her deep dark secret -- that she took a course (albeit online and remotely) from the infamous Regent University's School of Leadership and Management. Sara gives a pretty fascinating insight into the school, some of which might surprise readers.

• Arthur Hlavaty finds the Mental Floss guide to online -pedias (pedi-im?).

• Keith DeCandido has a great post up about the differences between fanfic and profic (i.e., professional and officially sanctioned media tie-in writing).

• Donna discusses serious subjects that, in a perfect world, would occupy a heck of a lot more blog pixels than the latest stupid remark made by some has-been shock-jock.

• Rachel talks about a police incident that happened on Easter Sunday right near where I work. Glad I don't frequent this neighborhood on weekends!

Speaking of work, my boss has just arrived, so it's time to switch hats again...

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