The American public has this really annoying way of demonstrating our "isms" after a major news event. We got a good taste of this last year when Hillary Clinton ran for president, last week when the NY Post published a cartoon depicting our president as a chimp and for the last several weeks since this Rihanna and Chris Brown drama went down. The Daily News published this article today and I've had enough.
OK. So we don't know all the details of went on between Chris Brown and Rihanna. All we know is he was arrested and she was treated in the hospital. Until we know more, we should really stop from speculating. But while we are speculating there's only so much that should be said. The Daily News article, which is mostly about Chris Brown going to anger management, has some really disgusting quotes from anonymous sources, including:
"It didn't help that Rihanna grabbed the keys out of his rented Lamborghini and threw them down the street. She knew it would really infuriate Chris, and it worked."
Really, so now throwing keys justifies violence? I get it. Chris Brown is young. He's talented. And I don't know that he's guilty. But rather than saying, "he didn't do it." The rhetoric seems to be, "he did it but it wasn't his fault." So whose fault is it then? Rihanna's? The mighty media?
I intentionally did not look at the pictures of Rihanna's injuries that TMZ posted because I thought it was terrible that they were even available. So I don't know how extensive her injuries were. But if he is indeed responsible for them he should be punished. If he is not, then whoever resorted to that kind of violence should be punished. But enough with the "it's OK to hit a woman when..." talk.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Another day, another jerk
I'm really, really curious to know what the thought process behind asking a woman for her phone number more than once is. As you can see from last night's post, I encountered this problem on the subway yesterday while I was trying to finish my reading for class AND listening music. Today, I had a similar experience when I ran to the corner store to buy some milk. Not only did some random man, who is at least 30 years older than me, start talking to me but he also followed me into the store and continued to harass me until a kindly, elderly woman told him to leave me alone.
Look, I won't lie, I'm highly stressed and very, very tired. The last few weeks have made me increasingly agitated and I have a very short fuse. But I really think there is something wrong with a society where men feel they can just talk to any woman they please even after she tells them she doesn't want to be spoken to. I am not saying all men do this, but there are some that do and correct me if I'm wrong, but this is not something commonly practiced by women.
In my life, I have never treated another person with so little respect. I don't have an issue with making small talk in the supermarket or saying hello to neighbors but I think following someone or continuing to bother them when they have already politely said no to your advances is clearly a form of sexual harassment. There's something about this behavior that implies, "no matter what you say I'm still going to try to get what I want." It is exceedingly frustrating.
I know a lot of women who intentionally try to avoid eye contact or simply ignore people who talk to them. While, I don't judge this behavior it is against my personal beliefs. If someone says hello, I say hello back. Simple as that. But it shouldn't be permission to follow me or talk to me like I'm an object rather than a person.
Look, I won't lie, I'm highly stressed and very, very tired. The last few weeks have made me increasingly agitated and I have a very short fuse. But I really think there is something wrong with a society where men feel they can just talk to any woman they please even after she tells them she doesn't want to be spoken to. I am not saying all men do this, but there are some that do and correct me if I'm wrong, but this is not something commonly practiced by women.
In my life, I have never treated another person with so little respect. I don't have an issue with making small talk in the supermarket or saying hello to neighbors but I think following someone or continuing to bother them when they have already politely said no to your advances is clearly a form of sexual harassment. There's something about this behavior that implies, "no matter what you say I'm still going to try to get what I want." It is exceedingly frustrating.
I know a lot of women who intentionally try to avoid eye contact or simply ignore people who talk to them. While, I don't judge this behavior it is against my personal beliefs. If someone says hello, I say hello back. Simple as that. But it shouldn't be permission to follow me or talk to me like I'm an object rather than a person.
Monday, February 23, 2009
I'm going to explode in 5...4...3...2...
Soooo...how do I start? I guess since my head feels like it's going to explode at any minute I'll start from the beginning.
Rant 1:
Dear Random Men on the Subway,
I tried. I really, really tried to be nice. Look, if I was interested you wouldn't have to ask for my phone number more than once and you certainly wouldn't have to ask for it five times before I abruptly got up and moved away. No, I don't want to be your friend. No, I don't have a boyfriend. And that doesn't change the fact that you're still annoying me. You have forced me to be rude to a complete stranger. I hate that. But it was necessary.
Best of luck with some other young woman who is listening to her IPod and reading, you jerk who obviously cannot take a hint.
Hate always,
Andrea
Rant 2:
So when I graduate, I'll have a degree in Urban Policy Analysis and Management. But right now, I'm seriously considering not graduating and transferring from Milano to Wagner at NYU. Why? Because 1) My policy lab class is a stupid exercise in vanity and superficial bull. Not that it isn't challenging...Oh, it is. But the challenging part is scheduling constant meetings around five busy people some of whom have FULL TIME JOBS and working with limited data on issues that cannot be solved in five weeks. 2) I haven't actually learned anything from policy lab. Like what's there to learn? Group work is difficult because everyone has other stuff to do? If I don't have enough time to actually analyze something I can just BS through it in a pretty looking Power Point presentation. 3) If I get kicked out of one more New School building/room I'm going to hurt someone. 4) When I first encountered an admissions counselor at the New School, they told me, "yes, many of our students work full time. Most of our classes are at night." What they neglected to mention was that in Fall 2008 the campus would be downsized and we would lose an entire building's worth of classrooms, making it almost impossible to schedule the majority of classes at night instead of in the middle of the day. Thanks, a lot Milano.
Gradute school is expensive and I'm OK with it being challenging too. But I'd like to learn something from a class, instead of actually just doing a ton of work to simulate a "professional environment." I'm 25 and have a two page resume, I don't need to simulate a professional environment. Been there. Done that. And I'm actually one of the younger people in the program. I am sooooo close to joining the revolutionaries that took over campus last month...Just cause. I'm pissed!
I'm going to go eat a brownie or six to calm myself.
Rant 1:
Dear Random Men on the Subway,
I tried. I really, really tried to be nice. Look, if I was interested you wouldn't have to ask for my phone number more than once and you certainly wouldn't have to ask for it five times before I abruptly got up and moved away. No, I don't want to be your friend. No, I don't have a boyfriend. And that doesn't change the fact that you're still annoying me. You have forced me to be rude to a complete stranger. I hate that. But it was necessary.
Best of luck with some other young woman who is listening to her IPod and reading, you jerk who obviously cannot take a hint.
Hate always,
Andrea
Rant 2:
So when I graduate, I'll have a degree in Urban Policy Analysis and Management. But right now, I'm seriously considering not graduating and transferring from Milano to Wagner at NYU. Why? Because 1) My policy lab class is a stupid exercise in vanity and superficial bull. Not that it isn't challenging...Oh, it is. But the challenging part is scheduling constant meetings around five busy people some of whom have FULL TIME JOBS and working with limited data on issues that cannot be solved in five weeks. 2) I haven't actually learned anything from policy lab. Like what's there to learn? Group work is difficult because everyone has other stuff to do? If I don't have enough time to actually analyze something I can just BS through it in a pretty looking Power Point presentation. 3) If I get kicked out of one more New School building/room I'm going to hurt someone. 4) When I first encountered an admissions counselor at the New School, they told me, "yes, many of our students work full time. Most of our classes are at night." What they neglected to mention was that in Fall 2008 the campus would be downsized and we would lose an entire building's worth of classrooms, making it almost impossible to schedule the majority of classes at night instead of in the middle of the day. Thanks, a lot Milano.
Gradute school is expensive and I'm OK with it being challenging too. But I'd like to learn something from a class, instead of actually just doing a ton of work to simulate a "professional environment." I'm 25 and have a two page resume, I don't need to simulate a professional environment. Been there. Done that. And I'm actually one of the younger people in the program. I am sooooo close to joining the revolutionaries that took over campus last month...Just cause. I'm pissed!
I'm going to go eat a brownie or six to calm myself.
Morning conclusion: Disney is bad for children and adults
I know what you're thinking. "Of course, it's bad for children. Duh, everyone knows that." Or perhaps you are thinking, "it's Disney, how can it be bad?"
Well, I'm glad you asked. During the Oscars last night I was twice traumatized when that disgusting roach from WALL E was featured in clips from the movie. Clearly, the animators at Disney have never actually seen a New York City roach, or Roachzilla, as I like to call them. They aren't cute and cuddly. They're filthy disgusting creatures that make me paranoid and are plotting against humankind. Not that I didn't enjoy WALL E. I did. It was cute and all. But every moment that disgusting sidekick of his was on screen I wanted to jump up and spray it with a can of Raid.
That's just strike one against Disney. But think about it. How many vermin have been prominently featured in Disney movies? The mice in Cinderella, the ants in a Bugs Life, and the rats in Ratatouille, Jimmie Cricket from Pinocchio. All vermin!
Children see these cute vermin and think "awww, I can't let Mommy and Daddy kill them." It's a conspiracy.
The second major problem with Disney is the fact that it took them 75 years to create a black princess! Really? 75 years! And get this, she's also the first American princess. And get this...She's not really a princess! When I was a kid, Jasmine was my favorite princess, even though Sleeping Beauty was my favorite movie, because Jasmine was different in a world of Aurora, Belle, Ariel and Cinderella. Then came Pocahontas and Mulan and it seemed that Disney was working its way up to a black princess. And then the worst possible thing happened. They stopped making princess movies! There's a lot of people who come to Disney's defense. Disney movies are typically based on folklore or fairytales and perhaps Disney couldn't find a well-known fairy tale about a black princess. I don't buy it. It's called...Aida. Yes, Aida is based on an opera, but so?! Disney financed a broadway production that was very sucessful. I have a hard time believing they couldn't have adapted this into an animated film. It had great music by Elton John and Tim Rice and all they had to do was put the cast into a recording studio to do the voices.
Anyways, that's my rant for the day. Damn you, Disney, for making me wait until I'm 25 to see a Disney princess that looks like me. The damage has been done. I'm sending you the therapy bills.
The Weekend...I thought this was supposed to be time off
I can't say I was really looking forward to the weekend. Mostly, because I knew it would be packed (as always) with things that I HAVE to do. But this weekend turned out to be too short (also...as always) and I won't lie, I had a little fun.
Saturday was the editing workshop at Girls Write Now, which surprisingly took a lot of planning. The day started off a little rough, because I got lost walking around the CUNY Grad Center, which was where the workshop was held and ended up being 15 minutes late.
I'm sure some of you are wondering what GWN is. Well, let me explain. It's a nonprofit that pairs aspiring teenage writers with professional women who have a writing background. We help them work on their writing and develop a relationship with them to encourage them to be college-bound. It's all kinds of awesome. My mentee, whose name will never,ever appear on this blog (cause she's a minor and all) is soooooo inspiring. She's talented and smart and really, really down-to-earth. She's also funny, which is great because we both laugh at similar types of things.
So the workshop started off with what GWN calls an ice breaker...Which was my job. We had the girls describe their biggest critic on paper and then destroy them! They seemed to enjoy that. After all, you can't really talk about editing without talking about the good and the bad. We all have critics who tells us we suck...When we actually don't. The rest of the workshop went well. We had a great panel with speakers from Seventeen, Jezebel (best. blog. ever.) and Youth Media Reporter. They talked about editing and self-editing. I hope the girls enjoyed it.
But boy was I tired when it was over! I passed out on the subway, which was fine, since it ended up taking an hour and half to get home.
Then I came home and attempted to write about racial economic disparities. That didn't go so well. I was a little tired by then.
To further procrastinate I watched Cloverfield. I give it two thumps up. Not terrible but not great either.
Sunday was more low-key, as in did not include 50 teenager girls. I met with my policy group, which is seriously becoming my second family. They're cool people and we worked on our Power Point Presentation. One of my colleagues volunteered to drive me home so I ended up not having to worry about the Q and its silly weekend schedule changes or the F and the weird police activity at 42 Street.
Then I watched the Oscars. Yay for Kate Winslet. You had me at Sense and Sensibility (one of the best adaptations ever).
I also managed to get some work done and continue to write my racial economic disparities paper, which by the way, is soooo complicated...
Am I ready to start the week? Nah. But at least I have something to show for the weekend. A presentation, an awesome workshop, a half-written paper and a half-written grant proposal.
Tomorrow's goals: finish proposal and paper. I'll let you know how that goes.
Saturday was the editing workshop at Girls Write Now, which surprisingly took a lot of planning. The day started off a little rough, because I got lost walking around the CUNY Grad Center, which was where the workshop was held and ended up being 15 minutes late.
I'm sure some of you are wondering what GWN is. Well, let me explain. It's a nonprofit that pairs aspiring teenage writers with professional women who have a writing background. We help them work on their writing and develop a relationship with them to encourage them to be college-bound. It's all kinds of awesome. My mentee, whose name will never,ever appear on this blog (cause she's a minor and all) is soooooo inspiring. She's talented and smart and really, really down-to-earth. She's also funny, which is great because we both laugh at similar types of things.
So the workshop started off with what GWN calls an ice breaker...Which was my job. We had the girls describe their biggest critic on paper and then destroy them! They seemed to enjoy that. After all, you can't really talk about editing without talking about the good and the bad. We all have critics who tells us we suck...When we actually don't. The rest of the workshop went well. We had a great panel with speakers from Seventeen, Jezebel (best. blog. ever.) and Youth Media Reporter. They talked about editing and self-editing. I hope the girls enjoyed it.
But boy was I tired when it was over! I passed out on the subway, which was fine, since it ended up taking an hour and half to get home.
Then I came home and attempted to write about racial economic disparities. That didn't go so well. I was a little tired by then.
To further procrastinate I watched Cloverfield. I give it two thumps up. Not terrible but not great either.
Sunday was more low-key, as in did not include 50 teenager girls. I met with my policy group, which is seriously becoming my second family. They're cool people and we worked on our Power Point Presentation. One of my colleagues volunteered to drive me home so I ended up not having to worry about the Q and its silly weekend schedule changes or the F and the weird police activity at 42 Street.
Then I watched the Oscars. Yay for Kate Winslet. You had me at Sense and Sensibility (one of the best adaptations ever).
I also managed to get some work done and continue to write my racial economic disparities paper, which by the way, is soooo complicated...
Am I ready to start the week? Nah. But at least I have something to show for the weekend. A presentation, an awesome workshop, a half-written paper and a half-written grant proposal.
Tomorrow's goals: finish proposal and paper. I'll let you know how that goes.
Hey, people.
Hello there. Long time, eh?
So yeah, I'm trying this blogging thing again.
For those of you who don't know...I used to use livejournal. And then bad things happened. People took things out of context. People called and yelled at me. I had shut off my cell for like a week. So here's my disclaimer: I will try to blog as often as I can. If you don't like what you read, get over it and get over yourself. Leave a comment. Send me an email. Do what you gotta do. But don't blow up my cell phone over some crap. And don't get mad because you read something on the Web first. I have a lot of friends. I can't call everyone every time there's a development in my life. So that's what this is for.
Now that we got that piece of business out of the way...
If you're wondering about the name of the blog, it's the title (and first line) of an Emily Dickinson poem. One of my favorite poems...But I digress...
I'll try to use this space for a few things: 1) general updates about my life (yes, some will assuredly be angsty but hopefully some will be fun too) 2) random rants on many topics including (but not restricted to) men, women, children, the government, business, the fact that I'm broke, the economy, Bill O'Reilly, Lou Dobbs, Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Sarah Palin (hopefully not), capitalism, socialism, hipsters, vermin and the New School. 3) Do-gooder stuff like charity events...cause that's how I roll.
So yeah, I'm trying this blogging thing again.
For those of you who don't know...I used to use livejournal. And then bad things happened. People took things out of context. People called and yelled at me. I had shut off my cell for like a week. So here's my disclaimer: I will try to blog as often as I can. If you don't like what you read, get over it and get over yourself. Leave a comment. Send me an email. Do what you gotta do. But don't blow up my cell phone over some crap. And don't get mad because you read something on the Web first. I have a lot of friends. I can't call everyone every time there's a development in my life. So that's what this is for.
Now that we got that piece of business out of the way...
If you're wondering about the name of the blog, it's the title (and first line) of an Emily Dickinson poem. One of my favorite poems...But I digress...
I'll try to use this space for a few things: 1) general updates about my life (yes, some will assuredly be angsty but hopefully some will be fun too) 2) random rants on many topics including (but not restricted to) men, women, children, the government, business, the fact that I'm broke, the economy, Bill O'Reilly, Lou Dobbs, Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Sarah Palin (hopefully not), capitalism, socialism, hipsters, vermin and the New School. 3) Do-gooder stuff like charity events...cause that's how I roll.
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