A new post is coming out on Monday but in the mean time we can talk about whatever anyone wants. No topic is off topic, as the saying goes.
Translating the words of survivors of prostitution
A Beginner's Guide
Until We Win
Speaking out on male violence against women and children
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." -Voltaire
A community of people who question the medicalization of gender-atypical youth
the Art of Dissent
A Blog by Margaret Pless
our voices matter
Turning people into toads is usually redundant.
an artificial girl in a binary world
if you don't like the news, make some of your own
Spinning radical feminist thought. No censorship. No shame.
A Feminist Voice
Tracking White Supremacy
"Feminism requires precisely what patriarchy destroys in women: unimpeachable bravery in confronting male power." Andrea Dworkin
Memoirs of a Butch Lesbian
Mancheeze 
I’m having a baking weekend. I’ve made a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies and I have a nutmeg/allspice banana loaf in the oven. I hope your weekend is going well HMQ, and the same to all the readers.
That sounds yummy!!
I have four days off, and the small grumps start school next week! If I slay the laundry monster, I might try some baking, too. 😀
Is there anything better than homemade chocolate chip cookies? I had my way with half a box of Trader Joe’s new toffee chips candy last night. Very similar somehow in flavor to See’s Bordeaux chocolates, which is unfortunate, because now I have something new to crave and try to avoid. I’m addicted to sugar but it’s better than boozing, at least for me.
Now I’m having my oatmeal and then going to a weightlifting class followed by a dance class. It’s a gloriously beautiful day here where I live. Happy Weekend HMQ and everybody else.
Sounds good. I wish I could be as physically fit. It’s weekend to catch up with sleep I missed last night. I was up till 4am watching Star Trek, LOL. My next post includes some Trekkie lore. I’ll be reading some great books Vliet sent me and eating these yogurt soft chewy candies.
I wrote a very small piece last night on why women need Sci Fi fantasy, why we should embrace it since our world offers us nothing. I figure if we can imagine new worlds and write them down, we can make them.
My birthday is coming up on the Autumnal Equinox. I’ll be 46 years.
The MacKinnon book is very good. I don’t always follow the legalese but she makes some great points about sex discrimination and how the law sees equality. I also read Mill’s essay on the slavery of women and Hobbes Choice, which is really no choice, that men give to women. Either marry the oppressor or be oppressed in public by not having the same socioeconomic opportunities. There is also an essay about the common thought that women are psychologically different than men and therefore not capable of the same work. Of course the essay points out there is ZERO evidence for this since we can never know what women could be since we operate always in relation to males who set standards.
I spent the morning at the dentist, but I’ve also been rewatching Star Trek this weekend, including two movies with the original cast and the Next Generation episode, “The Inner Light”–my all-time favorite Star Trek story. What in particular have you been watching, HMQ?
Since I also happen to write fantasy and SF, I look forward to reading your post about it.
I wish everyone a good weekend!
I’ve been watching TNG from the beginning. I also watched Generations.
I started rewatching classic Trek after the death of Leonard Nimoy this past winter and then spent the summer on TNG. I actually began and ended with the fifth season, mostly because it had some of my favorite episodes and I thought the seventh season got a bit weak. This weekend I’ve also watched Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock, and Voyage Home (the one with the whales!).
What struck me from watching so much of it in such a short time is how uneven the series was. Some of the episodes–even of the old Star Trek–still seem very fresh, while others have become very dated. (Seriously, why do women still take their husbands’ names in the 24th century?)
Generations is next on my list, followed by First Contact.
Unfortunately, Star Trek seemingly has never kept a canon sourcebook, detailing descriptions of species, character personalities, history of humanity past the present day. The franchise does wind up being very uneven as a result. I’d say the movies are the worst example of this; character motivations fly out the window for the benefit of making a fun movie. Picard never behaves like Picard in the movies, for example.
That being said, the franchise being so inconsistent has probably helped me stay devoted to it even through the roughest series (Enterprise, ugh) and the worst movies (Nemesis, ditto). If they make a bad movie, there’s always the next one.
It also lets them retcon bad racist and sexist choices they’ve made in the past. The original series is astonishingly sexist for the show supposedly looking forward to the future. I’d also argue that the original series’ anthropocentrism borders on racism, with all other sapient species being measured by how “human” they are.
I’m really loving TNG. I love Data’s daughter. Such a shame she ‘died’
The sexiest looking are the Vulcans but they’re emotionally unstable.
I’d love to see some of your work.
Exercise is crucial in helping with depression, at least for me. It makes me feel stronger and more focused. Endorphins are awesome.
Yeah, I’ve always been a science fiction/fantasy fan, even though so much of it is phallocentric horseshit. Ursula K. Le Guin is a good antidote.
It’s probably no coincidence that Star Trek was a product of the ’60s.They were all morality plays. My favorite movie is the one with the whales. I love Spock swearing inappropriately.
The Vulcans are definitely “emotionally unstable” lol.
The series never managed to create another Vulcan with the charisma and humor of Spock. And I agree that most of the Vulcans seem either very dull or emotionally unstable–which is, in fact, what happens when people try to suppress their feelings.
LeGuin is one of my favorite writers!
I’ve read the Mission Alpha site on Vulcans and I saw an TNG episode the other night where an old Vulcan ambassador, obviously male, lost his shit b/c he spent his entire life suppressing emotions. I swear, he was just like any other human male, yelling and screaming and violence.
I think Vulcans are based on human males. The way they’re written about is profoundly male, ie. the pon farr where an adolescent Vulcan male goes thru puberty and only thinks about mating. AFAIK, there hasn’t been a Vulcan female that went thru the pon farr featured on the show.
Very happy upcoming birthday. What a fortunate day to be born on – I have to say so because mine is the Vernal Equinox. The equinoxes are the biggest changes of the year, when the earth’s energy is very high. You must have channeled some of that “change” energy from the moment you drew a breath. Makes absolute sense.
And what an absolute truth spoken. Nobody knows what women might be capable of because men fear the possibilities like they fear being laughed at or being made to look, ahem, “small.”
Thanks Pallygirl, I wish you could help me fill up my fridge which seems to have gone empty due to lack of attention. I’m taking advantage of great weather to go on a mini-vac to a rustic little inn south of my home with shady trees and a pool. Am bringing books but may leave the laptop at home. As HMQ says it’s good to take regular breaks. Best wishes to all for a peaceful weekend.
Hahaha. Bubba just did the cutest thing ever. He sat on top of an old tea tin I had put on the floor. OMG so damn cute the way he begs for food, which just involves skittering around in front of me till I notice him and speak to him.
Daddy is actually an old female I think who has had lots of pups. She still doesnt like humans at all.
I think I found one of her babies, which I named Lily.
TNG is the shit. But I’m loosing it because there’s going to be an X-Files revival in January. The X-Files is one of my greatest loves. Actually, I think they’re reviving Twin Peaks on Showtime too. I also have a soft spot for Farscape, which they play on an obscure network called Pivot in the U.S.
I don’t have television. I threw out my tv in 1995 and never looked back. I only watch things online that I search for or someone recommends to me. Life w/o a tv is excellent. I read more. I learn more.
There must be quite a few of us no-TV people!
Has anyone ever had Uncle Ben’s Garden Variety rice? You need to cook it yourself but damn is it good. I buy a ton of them and cook em up in like 25 minutes. I don’t use butter in it, instead oil with extra salt to mimic the butter.
I haven’t been making much soup but with Autumn coming I’ll be eating hot and sour soup alot. I’ll fill ur fridge Vliet w/ homemade Onion soup w/ frenchbread crusts and melted havarti cheese.
I go to my local deli to get my cheese now. In Canada we have the shittiest cheese options. They’re mostly packaged. YUCK. I did find my local butcher shop carries fresh swiss and havarti but one cheese i miss is AMERICAN CHEESE dammit! My mom always bought sliced American. It’s a light cheddary flavour. Also, I miss REAL provolone cheese.
How are things going vliet? I’ll email u soon. I’ve been busy writing 2 essays. One will be published tomorrow and depending on how it’s received I’ll publish the next one the week after.
AVFM is libeling Jeff Sharlet. One of their members got a DMCA from taking recordings of an interview Sharlet did with Nicole Sandberg. Elam has uploaded this stricken video to AVFM in the hopes of legal action. HE’s acting like mr tough guy, ya know, daring them to do it.
I made a big pot of chickpeas & dumplings (vegetarian/vegan version of chicken & dumplings). I have a new cookware set on the way, and I’m very exited about that.
I see everyone is talking about Star Trek. LOL I’m more of a Star Wars fan, but I always enjoyed Deep Space Nine. I had a thing for Warf.
Oops. That should be spelled Worf.
Worf is in TNG too.
I know. 🙂 But I didn’t like his hair in that one. It was much longer in DS9, and he put on some weight which gave him a better shape.
One of my fave songs by Nirvana ‘School’
Won’t you believe it’s just my luck
NO RECESS!
By the way: Cobain was a huge proponent of women’s liberation.