Sarah Haskins on Panthers

Yes. Hooray.

See more Sarah Haskins awesome here

Happy Friday!

Among the many silly Youtube hits out there (think numanuma and chocolate rain guy) there are some gems... And one of my favorites is the story of Christian the Lion.

The story is about two men, John Rendall and Ace Bourke who were living in London in the 60s. They saw a young lion cub in a cramped cage at a department store and decided to rescue it. Well, the rest, I'll let you watch...



In an interview with Meredith Vieira the two men talk about that beautiful moment that was captured on film.

"He ran toward us with such love and excitement in his eyes, and we felt exactly the same way. We were just so excited to see him, looking so big and healthy. The story had just turned out so beautifully, when it could have had a very different ending.”

Rendall referred to the film in describing the reunion. “You can see in that clip his body language,” he said. “When he first starts seeing us, he’s looking, looking. Is it us? Is it us? And then suddenly, he says, ‘Right, this is them.’ And down he comes. And there wasn’t a moment that we ever doubted that it was going to be a wonderful greeting … we never doubted it.”

Now Sony Pictures is trying to secure rights to make a movie based on the book Rendall and Bourke wrote in 1972, "A Lion Called Christian." That is another movie I'm definitely going to see.

HEAR ME ROAR :)

Make sure to look at the slide show of lion pictures


nom nom nom

All hail Sarah Haskins

Sarah Haskins often appears on Feminist blogs for her HILARIOUS "target women" comedy bits. Here she is in all her glory. If she's made any other Target Women sketches that I don't have, please leave links in comments.

On "women's work"


and yogurt


and bride shows


and suffrage


and botox

300th Post!!

This will be my 300th post... and I am posting what superhero I am (very deep, I know)

... sounds about right though doesn't it?



Click here to take the quiz!

The Pro-Choice President

I blog over at plannedparenthoodadvocate.com and consequently am privy to some cool news. For example, Planned Parenthood has created these "widgets" for facebook, myspace, blogs etc (example above). They feature a running countdown to the next pro-choice president. I have one up here right under Alice, my pet penguin (feel free to feed her fish).

Side note: I had to think awhile about posting this widget. I realize that Obama claiming the nomination for Democratic candidate was not happy news for everyone. It has caused major rifts in the progressive community. Personally, this primary season left me feeling squashed and pained as well. Several other bloggers have said it better than I could. And certainly with such difficult times immediately behind us, it's hard to feel "rah rah" at the current moment.

However, knowing what I know about John McCain, I feel I must do everything I can to see he is defeated in 2008.

John McCain has consistently voted against women. He doesn't believe women deserve equal pay much less control of their bodies. He's voted against affordable birth control and medically accurate sex ed. He proudly states that he wants Roe v. Wade overturned. I'd say he's a bigger threat to women's lives that George W. Bush. And that is pretty damn scary.

So if a pro-choice President means as much to you as it does to me, and you support Obama for '08, feel free to head to this site to download a widget to add to your internet space in support for pro-choice policies back in the White House.

Thanks to Planned Parenthood for working to put choice back in Washington!

Great webcast

I found a great link at Feministing's weekly reader.

It's a webcast (listen to it here) to do with online harassment against women. The panel is full of insightful and funny women who have lots of experience to share. The entire thing is over an hour long but it's worth it. At least catch the first 20 minutes where Jessica Valenti, a US blogger and founder of Feministing speaks about her most recent case of online harassment stemming from this fabulous you tube video:



I had no idea that the response to her video had been that terrifying. It made me stop and take the time to write to Jessica in support. I hope you all do the same -- jessica@feministing.com

This webcast was helpful for me, a small time blogger who deals with her fair amount of trolls. I do not post the threats or the comments that merely spew bile but I publish a fair amount of condescending snark from trolls that are along the lines of:

"Let me tell you what you DON'T understand, little lady."

Some days I get really tired of that. I mean, there's a big wide internet out there -- why can't these guys go hang with all the other misogynists? Seriously- go. They'll gripe right along with you about 'womenz and their unfair quest for equality.' But I think I agree with the webcast panel that publishing some of these comments is good because it brings together a "swarm" of other feminists who will rally.

I see that happening right now on my Answering Anonymous post. And I want to thank any and all of you who support feminist blogs and comment here. I promise to keep this space as safe as I can and I always welcome a feminist swarm :)

3 things

#1 ... MSN asks...



Which new tough guy can take the title?

*sigh*

Does no one remember Sigourney Weaver's Ripley (from Alien) or Sarah Michelle Gellar's Buffy (or frankly ANY of the women on that show)? There are kick ass WOMEN action heroes and there should be more. Try stepping outside of the box, Hollywood. SERIOUSLY. If all you can do is recycle Indiana Jones, Rambo and 007 then I give up hope.*

#2 ... Then I saw this bumper sticker at my local mall today...



...and my head exploded.

What could make this day worse?

#3 ... How about nothing but spam e-mail and crummy forwards.

However, one of my forwards had a feminist bent. So I'm passing it on:

A preacher's wife was expecting a baby so he went before the congregation and asked for a raise. After much discussion, they passed a rule that whenever the preacher's family expanded, so would his paycheck.

After 6 children, this started to get expensive and the congregation decided to hold another meeting to discuss the preacher's salary.

There was much yelling and bickering about how much the clergyman's additional children were costing the church. Finally, the Preacher got up and spoke to the crowd, "Children are a gift from God," he said.

Silence fell on the congregation.

In the back pew, a little old lady stood up and in her frail voice said, "Rain is also a gift from God, but when we get too much of it, we wear rubbers."

*Well sort of, you know how I feel about Indiana Jones. He was my first real crush. Please, Hollywood, don't ruin it for me in this 4th movie.

Pick-me-up

It's a frustrating Wednesday so far. Thank God for this bit of humor.


"You can't even get it right after five takes, why would I agree to do it live!?"

Bill O'Reilly exposed as the pig he is -- the gift that keeps on giving.

Steve the Penguin

One of the coolest things that has happened to me recently is Mahlena-Rae Johnson, blogger extraordinaire of Steve the Penguin, asked me to review her book.

Um. Holy. Crap. Yes!

“Steve the Penguin” is the perfect novel to take to the beach, the park or on a plane ride this summer. At 189 pages, it’s a quick and easy read.

The story follows 20-something Bianca Reagan, a character who's truly living the new adult experience, working an assistant desk job but wanting a meaningful career and desiring a decent boyfriend but finding lackluster potential mates. It speaks to that time of life when you want desperately to find your place in the world and the comical journey that it takes getting there.

Johnson is in her element when she tackles the issues facing young women-- friendships, body image, men and the nerve-wracking hell that is high school reunion time. This book's greatest strength is its well-written characters and relationships, in particular female friendships.

For instance-- Liesl (Bianca’s friend since college) has seriously poor taste in men. When the inevitable fight erupts over Liesl’s mentally ill, estranged husband, the discussion was so raw and painful that I actually felt my heart racing. How many of us have been in that horrible situation (rock and a hard place anyone?) where one of our dearest girlfriends is dating a tool and there’s nothing we can say about it?

Readers follow Bianca from her LA office to her St. Thomas home where we meet her quirky family and see just how far Bianca's come since high school. She quickly feels less like a fictional character and more like a girl I’d love to hang with at the bar. I personally think Bianca and I would have a blast bitching about jobs, men and bad TV.

If you’re a fan of fast-paced, witty dialogue ala Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then Mahlena-Rae Johnson’s style is up your alley. Pop culture references pepper the pages and inject an even more ‘real’ edge to Bianca’s world.

The best part of “Steve the Penguin” is that there’s more to come (the next book is titled "Hot Penguin Action"!). Bianca Reagan is definitely a character I’d stick with through the years. I say we follow her to her 50 year reunion!


* On a side note, thank you to Mahlena-Rae for this wonderful opportunity and making me feel so special and honored. I’ve never reviewed a book before! Also thanks for giving a blogger like me hope that there’s life (and possibly even a career!) out there beyond cyberspace if we’re willing to do the work!

Abstinence the Condom

Via.

Hooray for the Midwest Teen Sex Show

Obama e-mail debunked

An e-mail forward claiming that Obama has more "substantial" legislative experience than Hilary Clinton is making the rounds.

It has also been debunked by Newsweek. It's an interesting read and a handy little reminder for anyone who claims "Hillary is only where she is because of her husband. " That's all the shit she got done in her 6 year term in the Senate--- you know, after her husband was done being leader of the free world...

A Friday Giggle

I'll show you bitches how to headbang

Because sometimes we just need something that makes us smile.

(click to watch awesome video)

Because I love the Office

and because my life has become crazy and I'm too exhausted to post anything worthwhile it seems.... here's a You Tube Clip I found of Office actor, BJ Novak doing stand-up on the well-known "72 virgins" story.



You know what I love about this? EVERY comedian did a bit on this. And almost every single one of them went at the joke from the angle of: "yeah, they were so ugly/disgusting/annoying/fat they couldn't get laid on earth--- haha, screw you terrorists!"

But then there's BJ Novak. Who makes a funny joke (I think) but manages to look at it from the angle of what this means for the women in this fundamentalist, scary world. Brave move. Smart move. And still funny. You see, you don't have to stoop to misogyny for laughs!

....

*sigh* I miss the Office.

Hooray!

This perked me up on a gloomy Wednesday.



Stolen from Feministe.

Gross

Ever see an ad and just think--- are you freaking kidding me? The one below showed an animated cartoon woman shedding pounds. Isn't that nice? Cause nothing beats shrinking down to fit properly into your bikini top and tiny white ruffled skirt.

And I bet you a million dollars no pill is gonna work like this either. But damn it we gotta hold onto the dream of conformity.

How naughty

Mingle²
Based on the use of the following words:
• sex (10x)
• porn (7x)
• death (3x)
• vagina (2x)
• dangerous (1x)

Vagina-- what a dirty, dirty word *eye roll*

Cartoon for the day

Click to enlarge