America’s Next Great Pundit Contest

As I was getting my daily dose of feministing.com, I ran across yesterday’s post by Jessica Valenti asking for support for one of their contributors, Courtney Martin, to win the Washington Post’s “America’s Next Great Pundit” contest.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love feministing.com, it is one of my favorite sites.  That’s why it’s on the sidebar to the left over there.   But, when I started reading the posts by her competitors I realized she is not the best person for the job.  Her article was far too personal, even though the personal is political – hers was not political.  It was not hard-hitting.  I didn’t learn anything.  It didn’t force me to re-examine the issues from a different perspective.  It did not add anything new to the conversation.  In fact, it reminded me of a really excellent college application’s personal statement.  Not exactly the job of a pundit, now is it?

Look to Frank Rich and Paul Krugman for a better model from the op-ed pages in the Times.  Listen to the old Rachel Maddow when she was a still guest commentator on The Keith Olbermann show.  She still offered unique insights to public discourse back then instead of just tweaking the mainstream left reaction like she does now with her show.  Or even Jon Stewart (now, the most trusted man in America, post-Cronkite).  So, I was disappointed to find they were pushing for Courtney especially when other women had far better articles, Maame Gyafi, Lydia Khalil, Mara Gray, and Zeba Khan.  Their reasoning outside of their personal allegiances was that a feminist needs to be thrown into the circle to shake things up (my paraphrase and interpretation).  However, she didn’t write about anything particularly woman-centric for her most recent article.  And, when she did before it sounded like a creative writing MFA student exercise.  I have the nagging notion that her the personal stories are a substitute for her obvious lack of knowledge.  She does not have a good grasp of the political issues, the mainstream opinion, her critical thinking faculties are absent or not on display, and because of that I don’t trust that she knows what she’s talking about.

In fact, Mara Gray and Gyafi both wrote about women’s issues, offered something new, and posses the relevant experience and credential to give credence to their work and opinions.  All four of the other women are women of color discussing particularly timely issues from a feminist perspective.  Or what about Zeba Khan?  A self-described social media consultant with strengths in women and minority issues.  All of these women had excellent articles.  And, besides, it’s so rare to have a woman of color who knows her stuff writing about foreign policy, kudos to Lydia Khalil for her humorous and illuminating article.

Unfortunately, I thought Courtney Martin and Jeremy Haber were some of the worst.  Except for maybe Kevin Huffman’s irrelevant vitriol about Halloween: Was he really criticizing trick or treating for UNICEF?

Even more disappointing is that feminism still needs a face lift and the ladies over at feministing know this.  Or at least, they should.  (Excuse me for the cosmetic surgery analogy, but I would describe the GOP as needing the same remedy.)  Feminism for the most part is still portrayed as a white woman’s bourgeoisie cause thus appearing to exclude the plight of women of color and low-income women.  That’s why that “endorsement,” if you will, is so disappointing.

It was short-sighted.

The United Nations Website

I’m not sure when or how recently the UN overhauled their website, but it looks fantastic.  Clearly, someone in the right place heard the complaints about their crotchety website and the confusion about the actual structure and organization of the massive organism itself.

Let me tell ya, I like progress.

• I can actually find the UN Radio News Service and sign up for the UN wire.
• The Employment page is on the first page after one selects their language!!!!

The website has moved into the 21st century!  Heck, there is even a page spelling out the structure and organization of the UN in a clear and concise manner.

More importantly, the UN has passed a resolution to create a full fledged agency on par with UNICEF targeting issues specific to women. At the present moment this is a frustrated effort because there are four entities [the U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM); the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues; the U.N. Division for the Advancement of Women; and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)] that do not coordinate their activities.  Weirdly, none of these four groups report directly to the Secretary General.  But, all that is going to change with these groups being consolidated under UNIFEM.  UNIFEM will be headed by an Under-Secretary General which is the third highest ranking official position in the UN system.

Progress!

National Museum Day is September 26, 2009

View from inside the Brooklyn Museum amidst Rodin’s Burghers of Calais

The Smithsonian sponsored National Museum Day is tomorrow.  It is a nationwide celebration of museums, large and small!  There are over 800 institutions participating nationwide.  Once you download the admissions card (on the website) you and a guest have gained free admission to the participating museum of your choice.   The regulations states we are limited to one card per household, but who says your guest cannot also download an admissions card with her household address on it?  Ah Ha! Gaming the system so you can enjoy more than one museum on this day.

The real question that seems to be eluding my brief Google research is whether or not this has been a national pastime or is this something that I am more than willing to attribute to the creative brain-trust of the Obama Administration.  He did say the arts were as essential an element of education as science during his campaign . . . Or maybe we are joining with the rest of the world in their long-time celebrations of these treasured institutions.  It seems many countries engage in International Museum Day (May 18, 2009) and have similar days within their respective countries.  The International Council of Museums (who knew such a thing existed?!) seems to be the regulator of this under-appreciated and overlooked activity.

I wonder why no one cares, just look at how dynamic their website is . . .

Women’s Studies

Many long-time readers may know I have been studying political science for the last two years and am increasingly losing interest in solely studying this field.  My interests are broaden and it seems difficult to bring all those interests together within the confines of quality social science research.  It turns out I just may be the arts & humanities person that I was trying to quash.  Having always identified myself as a fervent feminist from the times in grade school where I relished being one of a few girls who received the okay to play with the guys during recess, to earning the reputation of being a fem-nazi for a Summer, to reading feministing.com everyday.  Little realizations like this have been popping up every now and then reminding me of who I am.  Suffice to say, I am rediscovering my passions.  Being that I am still interested in pursuing a career in academia, I was doing a little research on interdisciplinary doctorate programs.  So, I made a list of academic interests only to find interdisciplinary programs are not abundant.  I found myself joking to one of my close friends that I should get a doctorate in academia since I cannot decide on any specific subject.  But, in the end I found a few programs I truly like, maybe even love.

I started off just typing in phrases into the Google.  And, somehow I ran across a feature in Ms. Magazine.  Turns out their online version had a link to a program guide of women’s studies programs across the country.  Unfortunately, for those who are interested in the subject at the doctoral level, there are only fourteen programs from which to choose.  The only two I would be interested in pursuing were at the  University of Maryland at College Park and UCLA.  Maybe, UCLA.  I’m not sure I could see myself living in Los Angeles for an extended period of time (sorry, SoCal – I like the Bay better).  However, Smith College’s department for the Study of Women and Gender had a more comprehensive list including international institutions.  After browsing through this list and encountering many familiar names, I found that LSE’s Gender Institute is dynamic and incredible.  In fact, I downloaded a few of the working papers to read for some light reading on the subway about “Contemporary Spinsterhood in Britain,” “Narrating the Self,” and “In Search of Balanced Domestic and Employment Lives”   (read: DORK).  But, for the most part, it is incredibly disappointing to see such a dearth of women’s studies programs at the doctorate level.  Most of any college or university’s WAGS professors are cross-listed with another department often without doctorate degrees in women’s and gender studies, but in some other field like Philosophy, English, or Sociology.  It seems that in 2009 women’s studies are still relegated to the academic ghetto with the various ethnic studies fields.  Maybe, even lower.

ABC Carpet and Home

Pipa tapas y mas, New York Magazine Critics' Pick

ABC Carpet and Home is in the Flatiron district right above Union Square on 18th and Broadway.  This store has six floors and has installed a restaurant next door, Pipa Tapas y Mas (which has the most delicious brunch!) to show off some of their wares in action.  Believe me, if I could afford to pay tens of thousands of dollars per month for rent, my home would be furnished with every piece from this store.  Much of it is recycled and/or reclaimed (or upcycled, as some say) vintage furniture. All the products are made with the environment in mind, with eco-friendly materials throughout.  I noticed pieces were imported from all parts of the world, beautiful ceramics (some raku-fired which brought on flashbacks from high school ceramics courses) from South Africa to help fund different women’s groups in the country.  Many of the other customers were taking pictures because the atmosphere is so inspiring with its spiritual energy and overwhelming beauty.  With that in mind, not only does it have the most whimsical furniture it has the most noble mission.

In their own words: their mission “abc home’s mission is to serve by manifesting a retail paradigm shift in which we compose a revolutionary platform for offering cause related product through beauty, experience, and magic, in order to guide you to creatively express your individuality, values and to actualize home as sacred space”

the abc culture “the abc icons represent our standards for social and environmental transformation. they serve to identify opportunities to align your vision and values to impact your home and our collective home, the planet”

their commitment “abc home is a portal into collective creativity, integrating healing, education, sanctuary, theatre, art, and interconnectivity to create the experience of a three-dimensional living magazine and interactive museum.  we support continuous improvement in minimizing our collective environmental footprint and maximizing social justice. we aspire to manifest a universal exchange where spirit, sustainability, culture, currency, and creation coexist; a holistic sensory experience to inform and inspire participation.  through the expression of passion with beauty as a tool, we present commerce as a vehicle for insight and for action in the aid of creating a better world” (ABC Carpet and Home).

It could not be a more perfect business.

Film for Fashion

Coco Before Chanel starring Audrey Tautou (Amelie) and directed by Anne Fontaine, another lady director (!), is coming out September 25, 2009 in New York and L.A.  This film focuses on the fashion icon before she became the perfume bottle that nearly every grandmother in America has on her dressing table.  Before she made Audrey Hepburn so chic every girl wants to emulate her (including Lily Allen).  Before Jackie Onassis set the standard for graceful style in a Chanel suit, paving the way for the fashion forward and opening up a space for our dear Michelle O.    Imagine that! A woman with a dynamic life!

This biopic portrays Gabrielle ”Coco” Chanel as a George Sand, a Frida Kahlo, a “free woman” as Doris Lessing would put it, wearing men’s clothes bucking tradition and convention all around her.  Ironically enough, she has become just that – conventional; failing to attract the likes of youth and instead, being forever the mainstay of fierce grandmothers.  Her house of style is the epitome of modern sophistication with a touch of Old World class.  No longer edgy, no longer daring, but, in fact, quite safe.  Her style has somehow become timeless and classic.  That elusive feminine grace of the women who wore Chanel has been so deftly applied to the hard lines of the men’s suit in its many variations over the years.  While the turn of the last century seemed to be a pretty vibrant period for Western women coming out and establishing themselves, sartorially, politically, and personally this film is a celebration of the American dream.  A rags-to-riches story of a woman who  never marries and achieves ultimate success.

It just does not get any better than Chanel.

The Hurt Locker

I saw The Hurt Locker about three weeks ago, maybe a month, and it is still with me.  This is a very well crafted film.  Now, being a military/war movie buff – I have seen them all even the foreign ones and, unfortunately, a lot of the bad ones.  My favorites are about the same as everyone else’s: Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, The Thin Red Line, Apocalypse Now, and Black Hawk Down.  However, I loved Enemy at the Gates which illustrated the Soviet perspective of WWII (rare, I tell you!) and Three Kings.  I left Saving Private Ryan off the list because it didn’t stand out to me, just the first scene, of course.  It could have been all the hype that did the film in for me.  Anyhoo, I love war movies for reaons unbeknownst to myself but here’s something cliché: ‘The war movie genre spans the full range of human emotion from the very worst to the very best.’  Perhaps, that is why they are so satisfying.  It’s too bad war movies have not taught our elected officials more.

The Hurt Locker shows us the war experience from the perspective of  the technicians of a bomb squad, a frequently overlooked component of our military organization, yet the singularly most important task outside of being a medic.  It centers around a small three person team (*spoilers follow*) who loses their team leader in the first scene of the movie.  He is then replaced by SSgt. William James (Jeremy Renner) to accompany Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) for the remaining days of their tour which are being counted down for the audience periodically throughout the film.  Obviously, the objective for the remaining two guys is to stay alive and emerge unscathed.  That simple objective becomes increasingly difficult as the nature of warfare has continued to change.

In the latter half of the 20th century and on starting with the Vietnam War, asymmetrical warfare has posed itself as a huge obstacle to the giant megapower of our (America’s) conventional military capabilities.  While it is not ethical to lay waste to an entire forest (Vietnam) or blow a mountain off the face of the Earth (Afghanistan) it is not, strategically, an intelligent idea.  However, this film focues on our current non-campaign in Iraq; however, the focus is on Baghdad providing the terrain challenge of a densely populated urban landscape not unlike Black Hawk Down in Mogadishu, Somalia.  The problem that presents itself repeatedly for the soldiers and viewers alike is distinguishing foe from friend.  There are moments where you want to yell at the soldiers and tell them to gun down the man with video camera, then a few more minutes pass and you start to question your instinct as to whether he’s making a youtube video or an actual threat.  This happens over and over again.  The camera zeroes in on a a cell phone, a wire, a person’s face and there’s a moment where the viewer is going through the decision-making process with the solider to investigate or walk away.  Many of the Iraqi characters have dialogue, so they are not silent dehumanized enemies, but dynamic red-blooded humans like the viewer and the soldier.  They are our allies at one point when James has to consult with some of the Iraqi police forces, they are innocent cogs in the fight exploited by the insurgents like the Father who is forced to wear a bomb vest, and there are children everywhere throughout the film running away or looking on out of simple curiosity.  The viewer empathizes completely with the soldier understanding why he must suspect everyone and how important one’s judgement becomes. It’s terrifying.  Especially, when the viewer realizes their instinct could be wrong.  Many a time, I found myself looking at my friend in horror eyes wide – mouth open, shocked.  The battles scenes are long and relentless.   The viewer can feel what the sense of time does to a person in an environment as sandy, gritty, and hot as Iraq let alone wearing a kevlar vest or a bomb suit.  For instance, there’s a moment where the soldiers: James, Sanborn, and Eldridge meet up with some British mercenaries in the desert (of course, they almost meet their maker when they first run into one another) and they find they are being ambushed from all sides.  Ending up in some sort of sandy trench they manage to pick off a sniper rifle and Sanborn and James as his spotter are forced to wait out the other sniper across the desert.  Not only is waiting grueling work, they’re in the desert with dwindling supplies for hydration.  Not to mention, at this point they’re surrounded by several dead bodies – so the smell must be wonderful.  Bigelow does a good job with the cinematography and really bringing home the difficulty of the conditions the soldiers are dealing with – leaving next to nothing to the imagination.

At this point, in the film there’s a tender moment between James and his outfit because interpersonal relations is a prominent theme in the film.  Not only is conflict a big problem, harmony and trust is no guarantee either as seen in the first scene when Sgt. Thompson (the first leader) gets blown up.  So, when the cowboy, James comes in and both Sanborn and Eldridge do not agree with his reckless ways one can imagine there is going to be a problem.  James, Sanborn, and Eldridge represent the three archetypes along a spectrum of soldier types.  On one extreme, we have James the daring, risky, seemingly “crazy” type who is the best at what he does – defying all the odds, Sanborn is in the middle, the smart, competent, capable soldier is who is good at his job but sees no reason for unnecessary risk, and Eldridge is our shell shocked, seen too much, might snap any minute soldier.  These are archetypes seen in all military movies.  James most reminded me of Tom Sizemore who plays almost the exact same type of character in Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down who stands straight up, never ducking, in the middle a firefight while everyone else is hiding behind corners and pillars, cowering behind humvees and tanks.  And, somehow this type of character is rarely wounded, and never dies.  He also reminded me of Sgt. Speirs from Band of Brothers who runs fearlessly through the middle of a battle with the Germans towards a tank and manages not to get shot, and he does this repeatedly – running through the most difficult and dangerous parts of the battle.  Tall tales and legends surround these guys because they do the unthinkable, the impossible, but how?  About 75% of the way through the movie, the viewer realizes this film is about that person – William James: the war junkie.  This junkie, who happens to keep parts from all the bombs he’s disabled beneath his cot to study.  That’s obsession, or it could be called commitment.  Or, it could be heroic?  Is insanity and an wavering sense of fearlessness and conviction a prerequisite to being a hero or a genius?

There is one particular scene that prompted a lengthy conversation between my friend and I as we debriefed afterwards.  Sanborn and James are at the mirror in the bathroom and Sanborn decides to tell James about his concerns for he and Eldridge’s safety.  But, then he devolves into calling him a honky tonk redneck or something to that effect, except that is assuredly what is on most viewers’ minds and he gives voice to that thought during the scene.  However, what’s particularly interesting about the casting is that Sanborn is played by a Black actor, but there’s nothing particularly “Black” about his character – in fact, anyone could have played his character and said those same lines.  An affluent Yalie (like the psychologist Cambridge) could have said the same thing to James if pushed to his limits and it would have come across with exactly the same meaning.  But, what’s interesting is that it piqued my friend’s racial anxiety and he thought this was going to become a racial exchange, but it did not.  But, the fact that it made the viewer go there to consider that is enough because at that moment, we are forced to realize that we identify with Sanborn, the Black character.  Our sympathies lie with him, he’s the centrist character who embodies the most common type of soldier, the type of soldier we, the viewer, would most likely be.  Because as any good filmmaker knows, no choice can go unconsidered – nothing appears on the screen by accident.

William Fitzsimmons

My best friend guided my thirsty ears to William Fitzsimmons because of his moving lyrics and phenomenal life story.  For those who listen to Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, and Sufjan Stevens – I may venture to say, that ole William Fitzsimmons surpasses them all.  His new album – his third, The Sparrow and The Crow is not as good as his first album, Until When We Are Ghosts, in my humble opinion, but – still very good.  For those of you in Illinois, he will be performing in the Pygmalion Music Festival (what a witty name. not.) along with RJD2, Autolux, and Iron & Wine.

So, check him out however you listen to music, be that pandora, last.fm, grooveshark, hypem.com, or elbo.ws because I have gone ahead and checked to see if he is available on all of those different portals.

And You’re Welcome.

Christian Siriano is fierce . . . Again!

O Bryant Park is so versatile holding host to an old world carousel and bocce games, but most notably to such illustrious stars as Christian Siriano during Fashion Week.  His show was this past Saturday the 12th of September (almost thirteen, but heywhatareyougonnado?!).  One review said he was inspired by the Mediterranean for his Spring collection as in oceans and volcanoes.  Funny how, I thought some of his prints reminded me of magma or molten lava á la volcanoes, coincidentally.

These are some of my favorite Christian Siriano looks from his Spring 2010 collection.  I must have that hat, I tell you – it’s so dramatic and wonderfully floppy.

Mostly, I am just so happy for him!  And, the show!  For a bit, I was worried because the first few winners are not producing work and I was worried Project Runway would turn into one of those shows that does notshake up or add talent to the industry.  And so with his success, Project Runway has become one of the few shows that provides a viable channel (besides, American Idol) to get  your overlooked vision across to compete in your dream business!  So, with that Congratulations to Mr. Siriano because he’s fierce!  And to Project Runway for delivering on its promise.

Whip It Ladies!

There are only 13 (lucky!) days remaining until Whip It! is released to a theatre near you!  And, the best part is – a woman directed the film.  And not just any woman, the great Drew Barrymore.  Here they are, the director and her star, Ellen Page, on the cover of Marie Claire (heck, I didn’t even know that mag was still around – well, good luck to them for surviving in a bull market!).

This is incredible!  In this year alone, three films (The Hurt Locker, Bright Star, and Whip It!) have been directed by women!  These achievements are near and dear to my heart because there are still so many fields and industries that need to be diversified.  And naturally, as an older sibling, I want the path to be as smooth as possible for my sister.

Whip It! looks fun and entertaining, hopefully the coveted 18-24 male demographic will come out in force since movies are made for this ‘oh-so-discriminating’ population.

Whip It! comes out October 2nd!