Dec 06
Welcome to
Madame Cur's
tumblelog.
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Dec 02
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When the Stupak anti-choice amendment passed, and so entered the health reform bill, no congressional representative stood up on the floor of the House to recount how access to abortion had saved her life or her family’s well-being. And where were the tea-baggers when we needed them? If anything represents the true danger of “government involvement” in healthcare, it’s a health reform bill that — if the Senate enacts something similar — will snatch away all but the wealthiest women’s right to choose.
It’s not just that abortion is deemed a morally trickier issue than mammography. To some extent, pink-ribbon culture has replaced feminism as a focus of female identity and solidarity. When a corporation wants to signal that it’s “woman friendly,” what does it do? It stamps a pink ribbon on its widget and proclaims that some miniscule portion of the profits will go to breast cancer research. I’ve even seen a bottle of Shiraz called “Hope” with a pink ribbon on its label, but no information, alas, on how much you have to drink to achieve the promised effect. When Laura Bush traveled to Saudi Arabia in 2007, what grave issue did she take up with the locals? Not women’s rights (to drive, to go outside without a man, etc.), but “breast cancer awareness.” In the post-feminist United States, issues like rape, domestic violence, and unwanted pregnancy seem to be too edgy for much public discussion, but breast cancer is all apple pie.
So welcome to the Women’s Movement 2.0: Instead of the proud female symbol — a circle on top of a cross — we have a droopy ribbon. Instead of embracing the full spectrum of human colors — black, brown, red, yellow, and white — we stick to princess pink. While we used to march in protest against sexist laws and practices, now we race or walk “for the cure.” And while we once sought full “consciousness” of all that oppresses us, now we’re content to achieve “awareness.”
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Dec 02
Nov 27
Pierre Bonnard, Man and Woman
Nov 27
Top twenty challenged/banned books of the twentieth century.
1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses by James Joyce
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. 1984 by George Orwell
10. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
11. Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov
12. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
13. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
14. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
15. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
16. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
17. Animal Farm by George Orwell
18. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
19. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
20. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Nov 25
I am beginning to feel a great deal of sympathy (dare I say, “Kinship”) with those family members who are whispered about by the majority as being awkward, eccentric, and/or possibly alcoholic because they need a few drinks to make it through the holidays. I do not want to spend the next few days with most of these people and this pangs me greatly, but leaves me oddly remorseless.
O brave new world! That has such people in it!
Nov 25
The End of Music
This post garnered many negative comments, as blasphemy often does, but I can’t help but think Branca has a point. Most of what I hear nowadays brings to mind the imbecilic synthetic music from 1984.
Nov 21
I just keep telling myself that it will all be over soon, it will all be over soon, it will all be over soon, it will all…
Nov 17
My hero wrote this...
what people are doing is copying a very expensive bottle of wines label and slapping it on a $5 bottle. and unfortunately, there are a lot of people who can’t tell the difference. and since each type of grape is going to have chemical markers of where the grape was grown, you can analyze it and pinpoint the region. almost down to the county. so if someone believes they have purchased a counterfeit bottle, they have the right to have it tested to confirm. the analyst will then be able to confirm if the grapes were grown where they are claimed to be.
and this copying the label thing, is huge. HUGE MONEY in it. a while back there was a company in China who duplicated Marlboro cigarettes. everything was identical. and they shipped them over here and sold them as real. well little did they know, that Marlboro has patented a special florescent color. they are the only people who can make, produce, and use that color. so when you hold a black light up to the box, it will fluoresce that specific color. the fake ones will not. and that’s how they knew.
also a lot of times people will open a beer can or bottle and think there is a finger in there or a rodent. but really it is a mold that grows to look exactly like it. so next time you crack open a can, don’t fear, it’s just mold.
but i don’t recommend drinking beer from a can. i tested a major brand the other day and it came out as 23% Al. 23%. and Al is what is being contributed to Alzheimer’s. so careful, careful.
Nov 17
Soldier mom refuses deployment
Why do these people sign up for the military? Whether you are for war or against, you have to admit that one who signs up for military service should realize that there are very real possibilities that they will be forced to serve.
Nov 16
Beginning in December, I will be taking a Regency Lit class focusing mostly on Jane Austen. This may sound elementary, at least that is how I think of Austen because I read her novels when I was still a child, but her books should not be viewed as mere “chick lit” or romance fluff. There is a great deal of history chronicled in those little stories.
As a middle schooler, I enjoyed reading about places and experiences that were beyond my grasp in my small corner of the world. This is why I read Austen; to be transported. I may think I have outgrown her, but she was my gateway drug getting me addicted to classic literature. I look forward to reading her works again.
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