You Took the Words Outta My Mouth: Immigration + Mental Health = EPIC FAIL

Thea Lim has this excellent post over on Racialicious, "When Systems of Oppression Intersect: Mental Health and the Immigration System." It details the story of Xiu Ping Jiang, a Chinese immigrant who has been caught up in the flawed deportation process, and whose situation is more compounded by a system that does not know how to properly treat for mental health concerns. This piece, which also cites other articles of note, captures what a horror show our immigration system really is. Being kept in solidarity confinement has ratcheted up Jiang's depression and suicidal ideations, thus it becomes increasingly more difficult for her to properly organize effectively for her case. Lim goes on to say:

It is impossible to disentangle the different strands of prejudice; where the psychiatric system is used to persecute people of colour, the justice system or immigration system persecutes people with disabilities, and inhumane systems in general combine to drive people to madness.

Read the full article here. As a crisis worker who has seen similar issues played out, let me just add that this problem is exacerbated when intimate partner violence or sexual assault is involved. This triad is unfortunately very common and there are not enough agencies with the appropriate resources available to aid these victims. This is the kind of problem that while not specialized, is treated as such, and I would love to see it addressed by our new administration.

Metric vs Married To The Sea

So other than biting my nails over the wait for the new HP movie, I've been obsessively listening to the new Metric album, Fantasies. Which, not to sound too over zealous, is completely perfect from start to finish. If you don't know Metric, check out that link above and give a listen, I doubt I'll like any album more than this one in 2009 (unless it's the new YYY which I haven't picked up yet).

One of my favorite parts of this album is the last song, it's upbeat, cute, and makes for a good visual. But more importantly, it makes me think Emily Haines (front woman) is really into the online comic, Married To The Sea. Which would be cool, because then we'd have something in common, and when we meet I could tell her I'm from Ohio just like Drew and Natalie who make MTTS, and she'd instantly want to be best friends with me because of my good taste in webcomics and midwestern states. So if you haven't already made the connection between these things, let me elablorate. The last song, Statium Love has lyrics like this:

Wanna make a bet
We'll be neck and neck
Taking off the gloves

Spider Vs Bat
Tiger Vs Rat
Rabbit Vs Dove

Every living thing
Pushed into the ring
Fight it out
To wow the crowd

The full song lyrics are here and you can listen to Statium Love on the site link up top. So the song has a deeper meaning about relationships (of course), but that's all lost on me, because everytime I listen to it, I think of this MTTS comic:


www.marriedtothesea.com

lolz...Moral of this tale? Listen to Metric, and read MTTS so you can wow your friends at parties with your inane cross references.

Time Flies Like Magic

2001 - The Sorcerers Stone



2009 - The Half Blood Prince

There's Refuge in Corners, All My Posessions in Boxes

Moving sucks for many reasons, for me some of the suckiest highlights are

A) My couch not fitting through the door, thus it was trashed
- and -
B) Comcast's inability to pull their heads out of their asses long enough to fix the friggin' internet which comes and goes from my apartment like the wind

I choose to blame my major behindness in writing on these main factors. Having to write in a camping chair, bed, or atop a rubbermaid container is as easy as trying to tackle the task in a moving car...no impossible, just incrediably uncomfortable and distracting.

So why don't I stop bitching and instead catch you up on the real haps, eh? My thoughts are just as scattered as my possessions these days, as I try to gather and organize both, take a gander at some pop culture things I found fascinating or infruiating in the last few weeks:

Movies:

"17 Again" starring Zac Efron and the adorable Matthew Perry (does me thinking Perry is the cuter of the two age me, or make me ambrosial?) looks like your average, my-life-sucks-at-this-age-why-not-try-another-age-via-unnamed-magic fluff movie. But according to community blogger Lauren on Oh No They Didn't it's rotten with sexist absintence only messages. Efron makes impassioned speeches about girls respecting themselves, and preaches that peeps shouldn't sex it up until they are ready to have that baby. Yikes and ewww! Read full post here.

Everyone is still gaga over Star Trek, as they should be, but in the hussle to call it the greatest prequel/summer movie/Star Trek remake everrrrr are we forgetting the women? Melissa over at Women and Hollywood ponders the insignificance of the three main female characters who can be broken down into little more than wife, mother, and girlfriend. Read full post here.

57 Days until Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince...OMFG...the wait is more painful than the Sectumsempra curse. If you haven't seen the full length preview yet, you must now at the official site here. I'm trying to remain cautiously optimistic becuase the last one was so not great, but holy cats, how can I not believe that this looks like the best and most amazing HP yet?! It seems to have everything. I'm surprised how much the preview showed of the end, and gaaaah...drool. I need to stop now.

Television:

Here is a super cute article I found in the New Yorker a couple of weeks ago about Amy Poehler and the unique quality she brings to all of her characters, "cockeyed optimism," they call it. If you feel bad from time to time about the lack of females in comedy (like I tend to) read this piece and savor this line: "...you always felt in good hands during a Poehler skit; unlike some of the other performers—the men of recent years come to mind—she never seemed sloppy or on the verge of being downright awful." I feel a triumphent leap in my heart when I read it, I hope you do too.

Now use that power you harnessed by reading that last bit and try not to reach into cyber space with the intention of strangling Dirk Benedict after you get a gander at this piece titled "Starbuck: Lost in Castration" he wrote about Battlestar Galactica. Benedict played Starbuck in the orginal series, and he's back now to say a whole handful of pro-sexism shit and if you don't like it than tough, he's a cigar chomping, ass grabing man, and that's the way of the/his world. It's unbearable that such backwards talk is being bantied around about such a progressive and important show. Get a snifter of this: "There was a time – I know I was there – when men were men, women were women and sometimes a cigar was just a good smoke. But 40 years of feminism have taken their toll. The war against masculinity has been won. Everything has turned into its opposite, so that what was once flirting and smoking is now sexual harassment and criminal. And everyone is more lonely and miserable as a result. " Le Sigh.

Rabbit Write discusses the controversial Oprah episode that encouraged mom's to buy their daughters' vibrators in order to teach them about self stimulation. While I agree with Rabbit that actually buying the vibrator for your kid is over steping bodily autonomy boundries, I will argue that there is nothing unatural to using tools to get the job done. She posts, "...it would seem that masturbation would be a natural and personal discovery. Isn’t that precisely what it should be? Quick fixes won’t help your teenagers develop positive relationships with their bodies. The beauty of healthy sex cannot be taught by an orgasm machine." Au contraire, a vibrator or any other sex toy is not an unnatural quick fix, it's part of the whole fix. And of course these kinds of toys can teach healthy sex. Healthy sex comes when one understands their own body and what makes them feel good. It's important to learn about yourself in many different ways. Besides, orgasm machine? Really, that's the word choice we're going with? Vibrators only vibrate, the user is in control of the speed, penetration, weight of touch, where it goes, and how much interaction it has in the masturbation process. It's not like those fetish sites where the girl is sumissive to some bizarre contraption. Let's not be over dramatic here.

Okay, it's good to get some of those out of my system. Now, back to posting things on a more regular basis...

I've Been Writing for Another Blog...Jealous?

So I've taken a couple weeks off here to launch a new humor blog with a food focus. It's called What We Eat Is Laughable and 5 of my friends are also contributing to it. There are only a few posts so far, but you can expect (and you will find) product and restaurant reviews, comments on food culture, recipes, how tos, budget meals, cooking videos, entertaining tips, and baking stuff. It will be omnivore, vegetarian, and vegan friendly and will cover a wide range of items so there is something for everyone. Unless you are a serious chef, then perhaps our wackiness may not be your taste - ha! Get it?!!!?? Taste?!!! Food Blog?! Ho-boy, those are the kind of gems you can expect to find on our site. Nothin' but laugh after laugh. Go. Read. Now.

You Took the Words Outta My Mouth: Miss California vs. Gay Marriage

By now, you've probably heard that although Miss California loves living in a country where everyone gets to make free choices (like the choice to have bigger boobs!), she'd like to be a part of limiting (or continuing to limit) the choices of the GLBT community. Mainly the whole icky marriage part, but she probably wouldn't say no to putting the kibosh on the Matthew Shepard Act that, if passed, will give states federal funds to prosecute hate crimes. I could totz she her agreeing that Shepard's attack was less of a hate crime and more of a whoops-a-daisy robbery. So to sum up, Miss California is pretty much a huge bag of hot useless air and thus has been invited by the conservatives from the National Organization for Marriage (least adorable NOM of all time) to come to DC and spread her intolerance.

If you're not familiar with NOM, check out this fear mongering campaign video where lots of white people (and a few tokens) are terrified of the one thing that will never happen if GLBT people marry: getting their rights trampled and/or infringed on. Gay marriage for these "Left Behind" extras is like a horrifying amalgamation of Voldemort, The Running of the Bulls, and being forced Clockwork-Orange-style to watch "Religulous" with Bill Maher. Seriously, people, right now your worst fear is your kid going to school and learning about civil rights? That's the big problem in your life? It sounds like a little house foreclosure would clear that irrationality up, right quick.


So that is what Miss. California is worried about. And to avoid taking a trip to word vomit village, I'm just gonna direct you to The Superficial, where they took the words outta my mouth:

So, let me get this straight, Jesus is cool with fake tits, morally bankrupt beauty pageants and constant media whoring, but not gay marriage? Huh. I never really pictured JC as a homophobic douchebag from Orange County, but that seems to be the message these days. Keep spreading the Good News, Carrie!

Also as I was writing this, Samhita over at Feministing put up a bit about the connection to feminism:

Her blatant homophobia just adds to the already established straight, cis-woman and white standard of beauty necessary for pageants to exist and to perpetuate the illusion of binary genders.

Wowie zowie! How apt that I listened to the Lunachicks while showering this morning...

Now There's More Than One Magical Thing Happening the Second Week of July

As if the anticipation of the sixth installment of Harry Potter wasn't already giving me heart palpitations, but OMG , finally finally finally The State is being released on DVD. According to TV Shows on DVD this long overdue release is slated for July 14th (gah! only one day before HP searches for horcruxes!). So now if you missed the sketch comedy show the first time around, and weren't cool enough to buy a few selected episodes on VHS tape, this is your chance to get with it. Do you like Wet Hot American Summer, Stella, and/or Reno 911!? The genius of all of 'em was birthed from The State. Grab your fattest Sharpie and mark your calenders for 7/14/09 so next time I tell you I'm seeing Stella at 6th and I Synagogue you act a little more jealous (I was seriously disapointed when I said I stood a foot from Micheal Showalter and you were like "Who?"). If you can't have Piggy-Shoes that make piggy sounds every time you step down on the heel, than The State DVDs are defintely the next best thing!

Jocular Jaunt-Overs: Seth Rogen Pre-Puberty Edition

It's hard to for the general public to fathom that a lot of the current comedy guys are free agents, especially when it's so easy to glom them all onto Judd Apatow. Here's a little proof that Seth Rogen was clearly destined for stardom even before his voice became all deep and muppetish. Jaunt on over here to see 14 year old Rogen take on grandparents, Judaism, and dating in one of the most adorable stand up routines you'll see this month (year?!?).

Spice up Your Morning

With this hilarious one and a half minute video on adoring the breadiest of breakfast foods.


*Thanks to Jon for the link!

Sex, Drugs, and Rupert Grint?

Yes Please.



Sad to say that this doesn't have US distribution yet. To learn a teensy bit more about Cherry Bomb, check out Worst Previews description of the film.

Grab Your Hashtags and Celebrate Funny Women Wednesday!

First things first! If you haven't joined Twitter yet, you need to, it's a great way to have conversations about all things ever with strangers, peeps in your job and/or hobby circle, and your beloved/bearable only on the internet friends. It's also great because with the use of hashtags (# sign) you can tag every post you make so other users can easily find the topics you're discussing. Here's a easy guide to Twitter. It will not intimidate you or get all pretentious in your face. I used it, and now I am happy. Also here's some more helpful and articulate things about hashtags.

Okay so now that you are a twitter user and sort of understand hashtags, it's good to know that there are a couple popular ones that cleverly coincide with days of the week, like #followfriday or #musicmonday. You use the former when you want your followers to follow the hip cats that you're following: "HeyHeyLouisaMay: #followfriday @heartsandstring for pop culture loving feminists." and the latter to share what songs you heart that day: "HeyHeyLouisaMay: #musicmonday "Where your eyes don't go" by They Might Be Giants."

SO in this (new) grand tradition I call on everyone to adorn Wednesdays with a new hashtag phenomenon: #funnywomenwednesday. It takes up a few extra characters, but it's worth it to show your followers, as well as Twitter searchers everywhere, women who are really fucking comical. It could be a shoutout to follow your giggle-inducing gal pal or an amusing actress you like. Also good, a link to some side splitting stand-up, or a blog written by a witty woman. Just highlight the laugh inducing ladies in your life. Everyone needs a reminder that even though Judd Apatow and crew rarely let us have the good lines, we can blithely banter with the best of 'em.

Why is this necessary? Who didn't see "I Love You, Man," and WISH that someone would have given Jamie Pressly more dialogue? And no one is looking forward to "Funny People" more than me, but even with Leslie Mann in a(nother) supporting role it's clear that the funny people helming this film (Seth Rogen, Adam Sandlar, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman) are definitely men. These boys sure know how to spin a humdinger, and I adore 'em for it, but it's clear that they aren't willing to seriously spilt their stage time with us. What's more ridiculous than that? And I don't have to tell you that there is an obnoxious rumor going around town that women aren't funny. There are more Feys, Poehlers, Wiigs, Silvermans, and Presslys out there, let's shine a spotlight on them, at least one day a week. It'd be more attention than they get now.

Not on Twitter? Then spread some love on Facebook, MySpace, or even on your own personal blog. You heard it here first kiddos, April 1st, 2009 kicks off Funny Women Wednesday, and that's no joke.

Cat + Fox + Tongue = Something You Definitely Want to See

Via Holy Cuteness Please note the creative use of The Nutcracker in the background:



Once I worked at a Metro Parks exhibit and helped look after a Fennec Fox and it was the greatest time in my life.

Sham Wow Won't Clean Up EVERY Mess

TRIGGER WARNING - So the Sham Wow Guy (SWG), real name Vince Shlomi (can't tell which moniker is worse), violently beat up a sex worker last month after she bit his tongue while kissing. This is 100% awful and the extent of the violence is shocking, as the Smoking Gun reports that she sustained facial fractures and lacerations all over her face. And here's a dose of quease-inducing coincidence, the attack happened on February 7th, one day before Chris Brown brutally attacked his girlfriend Rhianna.

Somehow, though, SWG beating up a sex worker didn't make the news in the same way, only trickling out this weekend as a novelty story. All posts about it have so far seemed to be more about Sham Wow and less about how this is a serious violent crime against a woman. Why haven't we heard about this until now? Probably because common views of sex workers are that they as disposable and deserving of the violence that plagues them. Lest we forget the words of serial prostitute killer, Gary Ridgeway, "I picked prostitutes as victims because they were easy to pick up without being noticed. I knew they would not be reported missing right away and might never be reported missing. I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught."

Severe? Sure, but reflections of this way of thinking can be seen in something as ubiquitous as the Grand Theft Auto series, during which your male character can rape and kill prostitutes. Do we all actively want or support violence against this population? Of course not, but there is a bigger question here. When it comes to sex workers, do we notice or care when these violent acts happen?

Sing It Out Sunday

Music and me are like BFF's, but I am sucktacular at writing reviews of albums, or even trying to describe how a band sounds. So that's not what's going to happen here. Basically you just need to know (if you don't already, geeze) that it's time to purchase the digital/disc/vinyl editions of the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album, It's Blitz! and the new Metric album, Fantasies. On the YYY page you only get hear their single and you also have to deal with a giant fakey-yet-still-grody eyeball background. Though on Metric's page, you get to hear a lot of the album and have the soothing image of a light bulb to gaze upon. Bottom line, both bands are fantastico and don't put out a lot of music, so hearing newness from them has been making March miraculous. If you're not currently listening to either of these dancy dancy, female led sensations, now is your chance. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Jocular Jaunt Overs: CBS Hearts Your Colon Edition

If you've been watching NCAA tournament with gusto, then you know CBS cares about your colon. So much so that they have created a contest in which the winner will be flown to New York to stay three luxurious nights a hotel and receive a stem-to-stern screening for colon cancer. Bizarre in a good-deed-weird-delivery kind of way isn't it? So as we know, all cancer is absolutely terrible and not funny, but there is a laugh to be had here, and it's lies within the PSA's CBS has created for this challenge. With a dash of terrible word play and a pinch of The Price Is Right style sweepstakes mania, these 10 different shorts are hilariously unexpected when they pop up inbetween car commericals and soda ads. Need a quick chuckle? Jaunt on over to CBS Cares page and check out the 16 second shots. Added bonus? If you're between the ages of 40-79 you can enter to win, just remeber who sent you.

Britney Wishes DC a Merry Christmas in March!

Why oh why was I not at this concert? So awesome.

Leave Your Vowels at the Door This Saturday

If you're in Ohio THIS weekend do yourself a favor and see new buckeye breakout sensations Speed Governor (affectionately known as SPD GVNR) play their very first show at the Treehouse in Columbus Saturday night. According to their MySpace page, this eerily similar trio of males fancies their music a mix of indie, rock, and post punk; citing impressive influences like Fugazi, the Pixies, Dinosaur Jr. and the Weakerthans. Is that not enough for you? Well, also at this show you can see, Via Audio, and Bicentennial Bear. What are you waiting for? Roadtrip to Columbus, Get there at 10, by some drinks, and GT RDY T RCK!

You Took the Words Outta My Mouth: Lovelle Mixon

I listened to three different stories about Lovelle Mixon on NPR today as I drove to and from work. If you are not familiar with his story yet, Mixon was shot and killed by police in Oakland California last week after he alledgedly killed 4 officers, and wounded another. Other than the tragic aspect of this story, it is noteable because it compounds the already toxic relationship between the black community and the police. It again raises many questions about what role police brutality will (continue to) play in this whole mess. Samhita over at Feministing has a great post up about this that I certainly cannot compete with:

When police officers are found to have murdered young black men, they are almost always let off the hook, they do not face life in prison and they are not then hunted and killed. This is not to suggest that the murder of cops is justified, but to ask that we look at it within the context of police brutality and the damage it has wreaked on the black community.

The power that resides in the laps of armed police officers is terrifying. Imagine living in these conditions, in the kind of world where you can be gunned down just for being young, black, male and walking down the street. This story is almost impossible to understand given dominant narratives around race, class, gender and black masculinity. It is considered OK to kill young black men, often violently. We may be outraged, but not nearly as outraged as when cops are killed.

Read the rest here.

There's No Excuse for Voting Republican

*Thanks to Hannah

Before "Stuff White People Like" Gets Their Snarky Hands On It...Enjoy This Trailer Made Especially for You

Sometimes life hands you a movie starring John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Cathrine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Jim Gaffigan, Allison Janney, and Maggie Gyllenhaal and it's directed by Sam Mendes and it has animated title cards, and some soft folk music and it's about having no direction in your early 30s. And wow, you love the idea of it, but when it's clearly the hipster movie of the year (move over Juno), you are already dreading:

A) Hating it and having people ask you why constantly
OR
B) Loving it with all with the knowledge that it was totally marketed directly to you

Here ya go...try not to become mildly obsessed with Johnny K's beard, it's only there because they knew you would love it: