Something To Do

I donated some books to the library a few weeks ago and noticed a lot of donations just sitting there. Normally they’re sorted reasonably quickly. I went back earlier this week and found that the only thing that had changed was that the donations had grown. 

Leaving them there was really bothering me. Some of those books could be put into circulation or sold in the shop. I called and asked if they needed volunteers to help sort them. I got a very emphatic yes.

It was a relief to hear a very emphatic yes. I’m going slightly stir crazy as of late. My resume was sent on for a contract position at Prestigious Government Agency and I had a 2nd interview at Prestigious Non-Profit both last week. I called to ask about the interview but they’re trying to staff a position they need filled immediately. They’re very interested in me and I’ll know something when Staffing Agency knows something. It’s also right before Christmas so most places aren’t doing much other than winding down.

Since they’re both big names with good potential, I don’t want to commit to another job until I know those aren't an option. I thought about joining a gym near my house but it’s $100 initiation fee and $30 monthly. Since my income is rather fixed, I can’t justify that expense. Volunteering will get me out of the house and some exercise since I'll be lifting books. I'll also be doing something good, putting books to use. I hope something good comes from this.

Music: Maybe Next Year by Meiko

Two F Words: Feminism and Frustrated

I am still deeply bothered by what Kelly Clarkson said about feminism. I am so disgusted by what she said that I've lost so much respect for her. I still like her songs but I just don't want to anymore.

I think what really bothers me is that Clarkson will never know she made people feel this way and cost herself at least one fan, probably more. Even if she did find that out, she won't understand the ignorance of her statement and the place of privilege it comes from.

There was a time when a woman being a secretary was a BIG DEAL. There was a time not too long ago when a woman being a doctor, lawyer, professor, cartographer, editor, computer programmer, judge, police officer, or film/stage director was unheard of. My mom had a job where she was one of the first women to ever do it.

All of these early women were making less money than men for the exact same jobs because 'Mitch has a family to support and you should just get a nice man to take care of you so you can stop working.' In the 1960s a Pan Am stewardess would be terminated for getting married. The job also had a mandatory retirement age below 35 and weigh-ins.

Most if not all women who are reading this have jobs. Do you enjoy wearing pants to that job? Thank feminism for that. A female performer having creative control over her career? Feminism helped end the days of 'shut up and sing sweetheart.' Clarkson's refusal to lose weight or sex it up would have cost her dearly in the not-so distant past.

There's an amazing ad by Pantene that shows how professional women are seen today. Men are 'the boss' while women are just bossy. Working fathers are dedicated while working mothers are selfish. These are subconscious things that researchers noticed in a recent study.

For those who still mistakenly think feminism is done all it needs to do, do you know that a lot of standard healthcare plans don't include maternity coverage? If you have any intentions of becoming pregnant, you'll have to pay extra every month. Most won't let you add it if you're already pregnant. You'll have to pay out of pocket for all those extra medical expenses. 

Despite that, many employers exercise the right to refuse to cover birth control in their insurance plans. Several do it under the guise of 'God's will' but for some reason all of these plans cover Viagra. If God decides he doesn't need to get it up anymore, let God's will be done. If a man deserves the right to choose when he gets hard, a woman deserves the right to choose when she gets pregnant.

No matter where a woman falls on the political or religious spectrum, maternity coverage and access to birth control are important. Men can get recreational medications while women have to pay extra for fundamental care. We are not equal if having a uterus is still treated as a preexisting condition.

My mom thinks the phrase "I'm not a feminist but" is as offensive as "I'm not a racist but." I'm inclined to agree with her. The main difference is that the former is acceptable to publicly announce while the latter is PR suicide.

None of Clarkson's people care what I have to say. Clarkson is probably too wrapped up in her own life and career to care what one former fan has to say especially since it's negative (albeit deserved). She doesn't seem to care what folks are saying at Bustle, The Frisky,NY Mag's The Cut, Jezebel and PolicyMic are saying either.

I think if someone sat Clarkson down and actually told her what the term really means and what it's done for women everywhere, she might change her tune. The same goes for Taylor Swift and Katy Perry. I doubt Clarkson would make a public declaration since she wants to release a country album and no one thinks feminism is another F word like that demographic. I wish she could know how impactful her words are and how she helps perpetuate the negative stereotype in the first place.

I just wish there was a pop star out there brave enough to say "The core tenant of feminism is equality and choice. I absolutely believe in that so, yes, I am a feminist." Women deserve that much.

Home Sweet Own Book 40

I bet you thought I’d forgotten about my book challenge in all the ‘no-job-no-income’ chaos. Nope. I remembered I was down to the final 3. I’m still working on the final two. 

For Library I read the first book in the graphic novel series My Boyfriend Is a Monster. It’s I Love Him to Pieces by Evonne Tsang and Janina Gorrissen. I discovered this series when I found the Frankenstein one at Baltimore Comic Con a couple of years ago.

I enjoyed this immensely. It’s a black and white that practically fits in your back pocket and you can devour in an hour. It starts normally enough but soon degrades into a zombie apocalypse in part of Florida with two teenagers stuck in the middle of it. The plot moves quickly and the story makes sense the entire time. Certain plot points could be seen as cliche but I thought it was all in good fun, especially since they had a semi-believable reason behind the zombies. I recommend it for fans of zombies or comics.

1) Fiction – A Once Crowded Sky by Tom King

2) Nonfiction – The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

3) Sci-Fi – Redshirts by John Scalzi

4) Fantasy – The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

5) Mystery – Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer

6) Horror – Call of the Jersey Devil by Aurelio Voltaire

7) Memoir/Biography – Data, A Love Story by Amy Webb

8) Chick Lit – Me and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter

9) Feminist – Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan

10) Teen – What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

11) Holiday

12) Essays – What Was I Thinking? ed. by Barbara Davilman & Liz Dubelman

13) Short Stories – Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman

14) Library – I Love Him to Pieces by Evonne Tsang and Janina Gorrissen

15) Animal – Puppy Kisses Are Good for the Soul by Howard Weinstein

16) Book about Books – Judging a Book By Its Lover by Lauren Leto

17) New – Pitch Perfect by Mickey Rapkin

18) Old – Dark and Stormy Knights edited by P. N. Elrod

19) Pop Science – Why Men Fake It by Abraham Morgentaler, MD

20) Near – Lust, Lies, and Love Over Lunch by Krista White

21) Far – Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

22) Graphic Novel – Love and Capes: Do You Want to Know a Secret? by Thomas F. Zahler

23) Reread – Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

24) Wild Card – Altared edited by Colleen Curran

25) Otherworldly Creature – Those Who Fight Monsters edited by Justin Gustianis

26) Free – Point Your Face at This by Demetri Martin

27) Noteworthy – The Woman Who Died A Lot by Jasper Fforde

28) Bestseller – How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

29) Themed Anthology – Red edited by Kris Goldsmith

30) Steampunk – The Immersion Book of Steampunk edited by Gareth Jones and Carmelo Rafala

31) Movie-Book – One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

32) Media – Doctor Who: Touched By an Angel by Jonathan Morris

33) Travel – Love with a Chance of Drowning by Torre DeRoche

34) Food – Spiced by Dalia Jurgensen

35) Classic – Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

36) Humor – Sleep Talkin’ Man by Karen Slavick-Lennar

37) Poetry

38) Past – Stasiland by Anna Funde

39) Future – Go to Hell by Pab Sungenis

40) Dystopia/Post-Apocalyptic – Diverse Energies edited by Tobias Buckell & Joe Monti

41) Zombie – FUBAR, Volume 2: Empire of the Rising Dead

42) Sports – Red Rising by Ted Starkey

Music: I Will Never Die by Delta Rae

Premium Cable

I’ve been using my funemployment to take advantage of premium cable. So far I’ve watched

Perks of Being a Wallflower

Phrases that come to mind when I try to evaluate Perks are ‘good not great’ and ‘it was OK.’ It wasn’t bad but it just didn’t speak to me. I know so many people my age who act like teenagers that it was weird to watch teenagers be more mature and handle major dramas.

Warm Bodies

I like my love stories a bit different so throwing in some zombies worked for me. I liked it in the theater and it still holds up. It’s a good way to introduce a wimp/muggle into the zombie genre

Taken 2

Holy crap was Taken 2 unimpressive. The premise was weak and the story just wasn’t as good as the original. That will very soon be one of those movies on FX you leave on in the background just for the noise. 

Argo

I read the memoir of the Tony Mendez so it was really interesting to see it play out on the big screen. Some things were definitely dramatized but it translated reasonably well.

The Hobbit

It was like rather than love. I enjoyed the book many years ago but I’m not nuts about them stretching it into a trilogy. I know they’re throwing in a bunch of stuff from the Silmarilion and book nuts complain how they never include enough stuff from the book but this may dilute the original source material. We’ll see how it all comes together.

Hopefully I won't be funemployed much longer. I've had 4 interviews between 2 departments at the same place. Tomorrow will be mostly a snow day so I'll probably watch something else while I put up the Christmas tree.

Music: Chasing Twisters by Delta Rae

'Happy' Thanksgiving

I have been remiss. Many of you have heard that Thanksgiving was spent with The Boy’s family. Since it’s just me and my mom we usually have a small shindig. The Boy’s Thanksgiving was a record high: him, his parent’s, his dad’s brother, his sister, 2 of her friends, his aunt + spouse, followed by me and my mom.

It went rather smoothly during the event. It was a combo of adults over 40 and twentysomethings. There was 9 kinds of cheese, oyster appetizers, a full dinner, and 4 kinds of pie (we supplied the mixed berry). TV was mostly football until the twentysomethings opted for Lady Gaga and the Muppets during dessert. We discussed how different Lady Gaga looked and the lack of Muppets.

I thought things went very well...until I got home. My mother has no desire to really expand her social circle so this was very stressful for her. Dinner lasted a couple of hours longer than expected. She had nothing negative to say about anyone there. She loved how well mannered The Boy was and thought his mother was sweet and gracious. Despite that, it was “the worst Thanksgiving I’ve ever had.”

I could tell she wasn’t looking forward to it which prevented me from looking forward to it. I gave her multiple opportunities to get out of it but she said she’d go. I don’t know why she was anxious or had such a miserable time. She doesn't understand why either and has no major interest in finding out. 

I think she’ll be skipping Christmas. I kind of hope she'll be skipping Christmas so I can just have dessert there and not come home to drama.

Priorities

Quote of the day courtesy yours truly: “We have the technology to figure out the atmospheric make up of planets billions of lightyears away and the make up of tiny atoms. Yet when it comes to determining why two dogs can eat the exact same food but only one turns it into room clearing farts we’ve got bupkis. Priorities people.”

Christmas Presents

Because I’m still unemployed, I’m doing jewelry or mix CDs for presents again this year. I’m using my ability to make a great playlist or some pretty shinies to make awesome presents. Here’s what I posted on FB:

If you want something shiny give me a type (earrings, necklance), colors, and any general opinion on chain maille stuff if you have one. If you want a mix CD, this year’s selection is below:

Before Part B (The Party Mix)

2013 Holiday Mix

Life and Stuff

Love Is (mix of heartbreak, over it, and love songs)

Random

Nerd Jams

No Words

Rock Out

Original Christmas Songs

The last one was added by popular complaint of constantly hearing the same Christmas songs over and over again. 

I’ll post the playlist for Original Christmas Songs here since that seems to be a universal problem for folks.

Music: Maybe This Christmas by Shane Dawson