White rabbits! Tashlikh is a tradition on Rosh Hashanah, usually taking place on the afternoon of the first day, whereby one performs a symbolic ritual of casting out one's sins from the previous year in an effort to start anew. When I was a kid I remember the congregation took a walk to a nearby small lake, stood around it and threw bread crumbs into it. I always thought it was pretty cool, much better than the scapegoat thingie on Yom Kippur. I mean honestly, that poor animal that never hurt anyone. Not something I want to think about on World Vegetarian Day.
In any case, Robin and I have been doing a number of tashlikh'y things. Last weekend I got rid of almost all my old ill-fitting tops, and today I disposed of the rest of them before doing my twice-yearly ironing. (Yeah, I really don't like ironing.) Yesterday Rob streamlined our living room electronics, really opening up the room, and we trashed all the detritus that we'll no longer be using. Today he vacuumed, and the house smells wonderful. I went through a lot of INSIDE JOKE issues from a quarter century ago to find and transcribe a piece (not one I wrote) for someone who'd emailed me about it last March, so that's finally done. I faxed my current doctor my new insurance card, which goes into effect today. And I've finally caught up with blog reading, so it's time to cast off all those bookmarked posts from September!
• My latest ComicMix column is up and, naturally, since I talked a bit about comics it's received absolutely no comments yet. I'm just about the last person to comment on DC's cancellation of the Minx line, which has been the topic in the comics blogosphere. Good roundups here (by the way, Brigid's blog has moved here) and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here.
• A propos of nothing, I really don't like this feud between Val and Lisa (and Melissa), and I wish I could present myself as some sort of mediator because I like all of them and think they're all good writers and very needed feminist comics blogger voices, but I'm at a bit of a loss and this appears to have been going on for a long, long time.
• As this blogaround's taken enough out of me, I didn't want to push my luck and do a complete updating of my sidebar, but I did want to note a couple passings and returns. Bill Connolly has called it quits, and Siva Vaidhyanathan has shut down Sivacracy (here's his video goodbye); I'll miss Ann Bartow's contributions there a lot. They're off my sidebar, but kept in my Bloglines folder marked "The Dead Zone" in case they come back. I was also saddened to hear that Rachel Edidin will no longer have time for GirlWonder.org, but I hear her regarding time constraints! Returning to my blogroll and my regular reading are Natalie Davis and Michael Bérubé; great to have both of them back! (Also back are all-new stories of Tara Tallan's Galaxion!)
• Not being able to blog regularly any more (work has taken up most of my daytime energy, and I'm quite happy about that), I missed a number of significant events. Natalie reminds us the 21st was International Peace Day; pretty logo! Unfortunately I couldn't get away from MSNBC's disgusting annual 9/11 airing of real-time footage of the WTC acttacks, which was playing in my office's lobby all morning. What, like they think we're going to forget that awful day if they don't make us relive it over and over? Don't do this to me, I still can't watch Holocaust footage and I wasn't even alive when that happened. Dean has a very nice post done on that day. I also missed celebrating Talk Like A Pirate Day, but quite liked Palau's post about it, and really loved what this group did (via Leigh). In fact, I missed Holy Pasta Week entirely, but considering I can't eat pasta like I used to (see below) that's probably a good thing.
• I don't even know where to begin about our country's current financial peril. Part of me hopes thebailout rescue package being debated in the Senate today passes, for all our sakes, but part of me wonders why middle-class and working-class citizens should reward rich people for screwing up. I can't help but wish our culture were closer to Asian countries' mindset sometimes, where we've seen disgraced CEOs actually commit suicide out of shame and embarrassment. Not advocating seppuku, mind you, just a little more contrition, a blanket refusal on the part of corporations and their shareholders to reward those who ruin them, and perhaps some jail time if warranted. But then, what can one expect from a Congress full of rich people who identify with Wall Street much more than Main Street, and a president who's failed at every business into which his connections have placed him?
Some worthy links: Sheila Lennon says Margaret Atwood and Douglas Rushkoff called the credit crisis. Tom Tomorrow also predicted this mess, as did so many of us who don't wear blinders. He's right, it absolutely is gambling (or, as Frank may prefer, horse racing), I've understood that for decades and am amazed others haven't. Only it's other people gambling with our money and without our permission. And the (brokerage) house always wins. The thing I didn't realize until I caught up on blog-reading was how many ordinary citizens are pissed about being asked to pony up for stuff that isn't our doing. All I'd been doing was watching the pundit-news! But Jeff tells it like it is. So does Michael Moore. David Malki gives us this gem:
Barbara Ehrenreich blames faith-based positive thinking. The Crone asks a really good question about why we need Congress to authorize a $700 billion "rescue" if the Fed's doing an end-run around them anyway by pumping an additional $630 billion into the global financial system. Natalie thinks the failure of the deeply flawed first bailout plan was a victory for the people. The News Writer doesn't understand howNancy Pelosi Diane Feinstein can get so much mail from constituents who hate the plan and still vote in favor of it. Kevin Drum wonders what the AIG implosion means for ManU, and I have to admit I did as well; they'll have to redesign those uniforms now! And I get dibs on which bit of Wayne Rooney I (as an American citizen and therefore new part-owner of AIG) now own. Ampersand passes along Cynthia McKinney's 10-point plan (seriously, if anyone gets on your case because you have "lady parts" yet no apparent interest in voting for a party ticket featuring a woman, suggest to them that you're considering going Green this year). Jesse Wendel provides an excellent primer of the three successful power (and money) grabs of the Bush administration. (Also read Jesse here and LowerManhattanite here as he articulates pretty much how I feel now, very lucky to be employed again and not by one of the failing corporations; I interviewed at both Wells Fargo and AIG.)
Oh, and that $700 billion may not just be a "really large number" pulled out of someone's ass; it's the exact number quoted by Senator Obama on the Senate floor this afternoon as the amount of our dependence on foreign oil in 2008 (I found confirmation of the number on T. Boone Pickens' site; you can practically hear him salivating). Michael Moore also points out that this number is also the amount by which the 400 richest Americans' wealth has increased during the Bush administration.
• What to say about Sarah Palin? Other than to agree that satire should really constitute more than mimicry, however brilliant; and to remind people not to spread fearmongering and rumors about her, like the banned books thing (and during Banned Books Week, yet, which of course isn't about banned books at all, as I pointed out three years ago) or the fake quotes from past interviews. Honestly, between the Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric interviews and tomorrow night's disaster waiting to happen, there's plenty of real critique to level against "Caribou Barbie" or "Bible Spice" without having to make things up! Of course, you need to be careful lest your questions be labelled as gotcha journalism (which those of us in reality land refer to as "actual journalism").
Oh, and this one's for Kath:
That's from Jude at First Draft.
• Now that October has arrived and I have full medical coverage again, I suppose it wouldn't do any harm to reveal my "pre-existing condition" of diabetes, with which I was diagnosed shortly before I began my current job. Although I seem to have a very low-level form of it, with my blood glucose pretty much hovering around 120 mg/dL (whatever that means) or lower most days, I've increased my activity and exercise just by virtue of my daily commute and frequent stationary-bike riding, and I've changed my diet quite a bit.
I've completely given up potatoes of any kind, which I don't miss, and pretty much stick to whole grain breads with complex carbs. I've also cut way back on dairy and sugar. But the thing I miss most of all is fruit juice. Recent studies have shown that "consumption of fruit juices may be associated with an increased hazard" for women of actually contracting diabetes. I wouldn't be at all surprised if that (combined with my Dad being a diabetic the last few years of his life) actually led to my condition. But dang, I miss it! I was like Ocean Spray's bitch. A day without orange juice used to be like a day without... well, you know. I'd learn to love the taste of bottled water but Susie notes a study that finds high levels of bisphenol A (found in plastic drink containers) can cause heart disease and diabetes.
The only products that make water taste a little like fruit juice without adding calories or other crap all contain aspartame or Splenda. You've heard of Splenda, aka sucralose. Just like sugar! they used to claim before the lawsuit. Well, turns out it might contribute to weight gain. Now granted, the study was funded by the Sugar Association, the adversaries in the aforementioned lawsuit, but it does make one wonder, particularly with so many dire warnings about aspartame, the other popular artificial sweetener. So what's a diabetic to do? This stuff's in pretty much all processed foods -- and, when it's not, you get your high-fructose corn syrup. I saw the first of those nauseating ads which count on people having heard that HFCS is bad but not understanding exactly why. It's like they don't think we know how to use the internets or something. Anyway, all I can suggest is to buy as much unsweetened stuff as you possibly can and add stevia to it. It's found in just about any health food store and is a little more expensive than buying the crap, but healthy stuff often is.
Big hugs to Iain McEwan, who now has to deal with stinky diabetes as well. And anyone who has any interest in creating comics to reach out to diabetics should read this. (Lastly, via io9, get a load of this all-in-one meter!)
• Oh, speaking of deceptive product placement, read up on what Degree did on the TV series Eureka. Ever so much more intrusive than The Office kowtowing to Staples.
• Rachel Maddow continues to be must-watch TV. I hope to finish this blogaround in time to see her show tonight! Here's high praise from Dorothy Snarker and Keith R.A. DeCandido.
• I think it's fitting on World Vegetarian Day to remind PETA: You're Not Helping. Which Leigh Dragoon does quite nicely here, and that's not even about the stupid breast milk stunt.
• Okay, this is already too long, but here are some bits and pieces I liked. First on the cultural front: Cat's gastronomic tour of Chicago was fun; check out his photo-filled posts here and here. Jason reminds us you don't screw with Ebert. Liz sings the praises of Carrie Fisher, while Melissa Silverstein reminds us of how far women still have to go. Meredith from The Office (aka Kate Flannery) gives us her unique diet. Augie reveals the secret friendship of Groucho Marx and Elton John; there's your Marx/Lennon connection right there! Jeff speaks out in favor of the adverb, quite eloquentLY. Michael Bérubé takes his special-needs kid to "Love" and a Beatlefest. Lastly, via Val, they're making a new Partridge Family series. Ohhhh dear...
• On the culture-war front, Mike reports that last Sunday a bunch of fundie preachers wanted to have their cake and eat it too. I don't mind if they preach politics, but you know, we could really use all that money that pulling their tax-exempt status would provide. Meanwhile, PZ reminds me that Australian aboriginal culture is far more sexist than I gave it credit for (in its own way it's as bad as what Colleen recounts here about Egypt), and the hypocritical Pope is still wearing Prada. And Amanda bids us rethink our stereotypes of rednecks. And on the political front: Bora explains both Huckabee's "desk" dog-whistle and the the "community organizer" one, where Jesse Taylor wishes Obama would heat up a bit. Provided, that is, he can escape JC's "It's Not Because He's Black Excuse Wheel."
Time to put this baby to bed! Silly Site to follow. Happy October, all!
In any case, Robin and I have been doing a number of tashlikh'y things. Last weekend I got rid of almost all my old ill-fitting tops, and today I disposed of the rest of them before doing my twice-yearly ironing. (Yeah, I really don't like ironing.) Yesterday Rob streamlined our living room electronics, really opening up the room, and we trashed all the detritus that we'll no longer be using. Today he vacuumed, and the house smells wonderful. I went through a lot of INSIDE JOKE issues from a quarter century ago to find and transcribe a piece (not one I wrote) for someone who'd emailed me about it last March, so that's finally done. I faxed my current doctor my new insurance card, which goes into effect today. And I've finally caught up with blog reading, so it's time to cast off all those bookmarked posts from September!
• My latest ComicMix column is up and, naturally, since I talked a bit about comics it's received absolutely no comments yet. I'm just about the last person to comment on DC's cancellation of the Minx line, which has been the topic in the comics blogosphere. Good roundups here (by the way, Brigid's blog has moved here) and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here.
• A propos of nothing, I really don't like this feud between Val and Lisa (and Melissa), and I wish I could present myself as some sort of mediator because I like all of them and think they're all good writers and very needed feminist comics blogger voices, but I'm at a bit of a loss and this appears to have been going on for a long, long time.
• As this blogaround's taken enough out of me, I didn't want to push my luck and do a complete updating of my sidebar, but I did want to note a couple passings and returns. Bill Connolly has called it quits, and Siva Vaidhyanathan has shut down Sivacracy (here's his video goodbye); I'll miss Ann Bartow's contributions there a lot. They're off my sidebar, but kept in my Bloglines folder marked "The Dead Zone" in case they come back. I was also saddened to hear that Rachel Edidin will no longer have time for GirlWonder.org, but I hear her regarding time constraints! Returning to my blogroll and my regular reading are Natalie Davis and Michael Bérubé; great to have both of them back! (Also back are all-new stories of Tara Tallan's Galaxion!)
• Not being able to blog regularly any more (work has taken up most of my daytime energy, and I'm quite happy about that), I missed a number of significant events. Natalie reminds us the 21st was International Peace Day; pretty logo! Unfortunately I couldn't get away from MSNBC's disgusting annual 9/11 airing of real-time footage of the WTC acttacks, which was playing in my office's lobby all morning. What, like they think we're going to forget that awful day if they don't make us relive it over and over? Don't do this to me, I still can't watch Holocaust footage and I wasn't even alive when that happened. Dean has a very nice post done on that day. I also missed celebrating Talk Like A Pirate Day, but quite liked Palau's post about it, and really loved what this group did (via Leigh). In fact, I missed Holy Pasta Week entirely, but considering I can't eat pasta like I used to (see below) that's probably a good thing.
• I don't even know where to begin about our country's current financial peril. Part of me hopes the
Some worthy links: Sheila Lennon says Margaret Atwood and Douglas Rushkoff called the credit crisis. Tom Tomorrow also predicted this mess, as did so many of us who don't wear blinders. He's right, it absolutely is gambling (or, as Frank may prefer, horse racing), I've understood that for decades and am amazed others haven't. Only it's other people gambling with our money and without our permission. And the (brokerage) house always wins. The thing I didn't realize until I caught up on blog-reading was how many ordinary citizens are pissed about being asked to pony up for stuff that isn't our doing. All I'd been doing was watching the pundit-news! But Jeff tells it like it is. So does Michael Moore. David Malki gives us this gem:
Barbara Ehrenreich blames faith-based positive thinking. The Crone asks a really good question about why we need Congress to authorize a $700 billion "rescue" if the Fed's doing an end-run around them anyway by pumping an additional $630 billion into the global financial system. Natalie thinks the failure of the deeply flawed first bailout plan was a victory for the people. The News Writer doesn't understand how
Oh, and that $700 billion may not just be a "really large number" pulled out of someone's ass; it's the exact number quoted by Senator Obama on the Senate floor this afternoon as the amount of our dependence on foreign oil in 2008 (I found confirmation of the number on T. Boone Pickens' site; you can practically hear him salivating). Michael Moore also points out that this number is also the amount by which the 400 richest Americans' wealth has increased during the Bush administration.
• What to say about Sarah Palin? Other than to agree that satire should really constitute more than mimicry, however brilliant; and to remind people not to spread fearmongering and rumors about her, like the banned books thing (and during Banned Books Week, yet, which of course isn't about banned books at all, as I pointed out three years ago) or the fake quotes from past interviews. Honestly, between the Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric interviews and tomorrow night's disaster waiting to happen, there's plenty of real critique to level against "Caribou Barbie" or "Bible Spice" without having to make things up! Of course, you need to be careful lest your questions be labelled as gotcha journalism (which those of us in reality land refer to as "actual journalism").
Oh, and this one's for Kath:
That's from Jude at First Draft.
• Now that October has arrived and I have full medical coverage again, I suppose it wouldn't do any harm to reveal my "pre-existing condition" of diabetes, with which I was diagnosed shortly before I began my current job. Although I seem to have a very low-level form of it, with my blood glucose pretty much hovering around 120 mg/dL (whatever that means) or lower most days, I've increased my activity and exercise just by virtue of my daily commute and frequent stationary-bike riding, and I've changed my diet quite a bit.
I've completely given up potatoes of any kind, which I don't miss, and pretty much stick to whole grain breads with complex carbs. I've also cut way back on dairy and sugar. But the thing I miss most of all is fruit juice. Recent studies have shown that "consumption of fruit juices may be associated with an increased hazard" for women of actually contracting diabetes. I wouldn't be at all surprised if that (combined with my Dad being a diabetic the last few years of his life) actually led to my condition. But dang, I miss it! I was like Ocean Spray's bitch. A day without orange juice used to be like a day without... well, you know. I'd learn to love the taste of bottled water but Susie notes a study that finds high levels of bisphenol A (found in plastic drink containers) can cause heart disease and diabetes.
The only products that make water taste a little like fruit juice without adding calories or other crap all contain aspartame or Splenda. You've heard of Splenda, aka sucralose. Just like sugar! they used to claim before the lawsuit. Well, turns out it might contribute to weight gain. Now granted, the study was funded by the Sugar Association, the adversaries in the aforementioned lawsuit, but it does make one wonder, particularly with so many dire warnings about aspartame, the other popular artificial sweetener. So what's a diabetic to do? This stuff's in pretty much all processed foods -- and, when it's not, you get your high-fructose corn syrup. I saw the first of those nauseating ads which count on people having heard that HFCS is bad but not understanding exactly why. It's like they don't think we know how to use the internets or something. Anyway, all I can suggest is to buy as much unsweetened stuff as you possibly can and add stevia to it. It's found in just about any health food store and is a little more expensive than buying the crap, but healthy stuff often is.
Big hugs to Iain McEwan, who now has to deal with stinky diabetes as well. And anyone who has any interest in creating comics to reach out to diabetics should read this. (Lastly, via io9, get a load of this all-in-one meter!)
• Oh, speaking of deceptive product placement, read up on what Degree did on the TV series Eureka. Ever so much more intrusive than The Office kowtowing to Staples.
• Rachel Maddow continues to be must-watch TV. I hope to finish this blogaround in time to see her show tonight! Here's high praise from Dorothy Snarker and Keith R.A. DeCandido.
• I think it's fitting on World Vegetarian Day to remind PETA: You're Not Helping. Which Leigh Dragoon does quite nicely here, and that's not even about the stupid breast milk stunt.
• Okay, this is already too long, but here are some bits and pieces I liked. First on the cultural front: Cat's gastronomic tour of Chicago was fun; check out his photo-filled posts here and here. Jason reminds us you don't screw with Ebert. Liz sings the praises of Carrie Fisher, while Melissa Silverstein reminds us of how far women still have to go. Meredith from The Office (aka Kate Flannery) gives us her unique diet. Augie reveals the secret friendship of Groucho Marx and Elton John; there's your Marx/Lennon connection right there! Jeff speaks out in favor of the adverb, quite eloquentLY. Michael Bérubé takes his special-needs kid to "Love" and a Beatlefest. Lastly, via Val, they're making a new Partridge Family series. Ohhhh dear...
• On the culture-war front, Mike reports that last Sunday a bunch of fundie preachers wanted to have their cake and eat it too. I don't mind if they preach politics, but you know, we could really use all that money that pulling their tax-exempt status would provide. Meanwhile, PZ reminds me that Australian aboriginal culture is far more sexist than I gave it credit for (in its own way it's as bad as what Colleen recounts here about Egypt), and the hypocritical Pope is still wearing Prada. And Amanda bids us rethink our stereotypes of rednecks. And on the political front: Bora explains both Huckabee's "desk" dog-whistle and the the "community organizer" one, where Jesse Taylor wishes Obama would heat up a bit. Provided, that is, he can escape JC's "It's Not Because He's Black Excuse Wheel."
Time to put this baby to bed! Silly Site to follow. Happy October, all!
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