A must-see!
"This new series looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on."
Link Here:
current work
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Women are Never Front Runners by Gloria Steinem
You'll probably have to copy and paste the link, but it's a great article.
Op-Ed Contributor
Women Are Never Front-Runners
By GLORIA STEINEM
Published: January 8, 2008
Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life, whether the question is who must be in the kitchen or who could be in the White House.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/opinion/08steinem.html?ex=1357534800&en=9f6d8783ff1b15c9&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Op-Ed Contributor
Women Are Never Front-Runners
By GLORIA STEINEM
Published: January 8, 2008
Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life, whether the question is who must be in the kitchen or who could be in the White House.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/opinion/08steinem.html?ex=1357534800&en=9f6d8783ff1b15c9&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
new years glitterati
new year’s eve/day was never my favorite holiday. perhaps because of the general chaos, sudden cover charges for free bars, heightened expectations, intensity of endings and beginnings, or that one underage year we gave some guy $40 to buy us booze and he never returned (go figure—what a busted new year’s that was). aside from the most incredible year when alison and dakota married (and liz and i reunited, sorta), it’s always been underwhelming—not worth the hangover or money.this year i decided to revolve my new year celebration around family instead of madness, and skip the lost phone, wasted money, dangerous travel, and morning-after-“where am i?” confusion. i was with my lover, my family, and my family friends. i drank too much wine, danced it off, then passed out in my gold sequin dress.
my year still started with a hangover, but i was surrounded by people i love and people who love me and woke up at my sister’s to the best bloody marys and breakfast in town, followed by a good-luck dinner and beer. we played Rock Band all day (a la Guitar Hero fame—but with the whole band; i hope you’ve seen the Guitar Hero South Park); i’m a rockstar on guitar, a disgrace on the drums, and a funny joke on mike. but it was awesome.
and i love(d) new year’s.
thanks to my sister and brother-in-law for their stellar hosting skills and hospitality (xoxo).
Thursday, December 20, 2007
re-revision update
current mood: triumphant
Leandra,
The co-editors of Radical Teacher's Teaching About and With Alternative Media cluster liked your recent revisions and would like to publish your article. We now need a short three or four sentence Contributor's Note from you and any suggestions you might have for graphics to help illustrate your article. We have an Art Director who takes care of choosing and creating graphics, but we also like to have our authors offer selections of their own which they think will enhance their articles.
Leonard Vogt, Bob Rosen, Pepi Leistyna
Cluster co-editors
Leandra,
The co-editors of Radical Teacher's Teaching About and With Alternative Media cluster liked your recent revisions and would like to publish your article. We now need a short three or four sentence Contributor's Note from you and any suggestions you might have for graphics to help illustrate your article. We have an Art Director who takes care of choosing and creating graphics, but we also like to have our authors offer selections of their own which they think will enhance their articles.
Leonard Vogt, Bob Rosen, Pepi Leistyna
Cluster co-editors
Monday, December 3, 2007
Festivus Among Us
current mood: jubilant I'm so festive this year. And it mostly has to do with my fabulous living situation and partner who actually appreciates-- participates in--such frivolity with me. It's my first year with a Christmas tree since moving out from my sister four years ago. Various excuses have kept me from going through the trouble (or fun) of decorating my house, including a roommate who didn't care about the holidays much, the fact that no one ever visited, the cost and consumerism of it all, and a general lack of joy and passion around the holidays because of too-much-work-to-do and long-distance relations...
But this year is different. I love him and I love holidays and I love our first Christmas tree. If I can break through my two jobs and intense December workload, we might even have a holiday party...so look out. Ho ho ho...
revising (and then revising again)
Current mood: over it
For those of you blessed enough NOT to know what trying to publish an article entails, I'm including the following sample.
Over a year ago, Alison Smith and I presented a pair of papers at a MAPACA (pop culture association) conference. The presentation went well, but apparently our papers functioned better together in that very specific context, b/c when it came time to revise mine for publication (since such subject matter has such a short life), I found it more difficult than anticipated.
I first revised for Feminist Teacher (academic journal) but never heard back from them. So rather than let it go, I responded to an appropriate call from another journal, Radical Teacher--which required another set of revisions. Then more. And now more.
It's promising that they took the time to give me such specific recommendations (whereas generally you either don't hear back or receive a simple "thanks but no thanks"), but by now I'm just SO OVER IT. And I have SO MUCH TO DO otherwise! Like grade 130 papers, revise another paper and write a personal statement for my PhD application (another blog entry altogether), and (yes) study for the GRE, again... all in a month.
But off I go to revise this paper--again. Revision is about the "again" which I've come to know so well. Too well. Wish me luck...
FIRST RESPONSE UPON SUBMITTING TO RADICAL TEACHER:
Leandra, We may be interested in publishing your article "A Space of Our Own: My Space and Feminist Activism in the Classroom" in the Radical Teacher cluster on Teaching About and With Alternative Media. The idea of relating to MySpace and getting students to post things there about political issues seems worth pursuing. This could be an interesting and useful article on MySpace technology as a pedagogical and political tool.
However, before we could consider publication, we would like you to revise with more focus on the words "Feminist Activism" from the title of your article. We feel too much of the article is quotes from authorities or talk of what MySpace means to you personally. Instead, we would like a greater focus on specific political content students learn or express on MySpace and if and how the use of this alternative media fosters "Feminist Activism in the Classroom."
We like the relationship between feminism and MySpace that your article discusses, and we hope that you are willing to revise in order to include more focus on students and their responses to this alternative media. Would it be possible to hear back from you with revisions by around November 25?
Sincerely, Leonard, Bob and Pepi
Co-cluster editors for Teaching About and With Alternative Media
AFTER SPENDING THREE WEEKS ON REVISIONS:
Leandra, We would like to be able to publish your article "A Space of Our Own: MySpace and Feminist Activism in the Classroom" in Radical Teacher's cluster on Teaching About and With Alternative Media. However, before we can make a final publishing decision, we have some suggestions for revision which we hope you are able to make.
We find your article at its best when it is concrete and offers specific examples. We would like more of that in your revision.
[INSERT MANY SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS] (which i do, i really do appreciate)
We hope these suggestions for revision are useful and that you are interested in working with us towards publication.
Leonard, Bob, and Pepi Cluster co-editors of Teaching About and With Alternative Media Radical Teacher
Waaahhhh.
For those of you blessed enough NOT to know what trying to publish an article entails, I'm including the following sample.
Over a year ago, Alison Smith and I presented a pair of papers at a MAPACA (pop culture association) conference. The presentation went well, but apparently our papers functioned better together in that very specific context, b/c when it came time to revise mine for publication (since such subject matter has such a short life), I found it more difficult than anticipated.
I first revised for Feminist Teacher (academic journal) but never heard back from them. So rather than let it go, I responded to an appropriate call from another journal, Radical Teacher--which required another set of revisions. Then more. And now more.
It's promising that they took the time to give me such specific recommendations (whereas generally you either don't hear back or receive a simple "thanks but no thanks"), but by now I'm just SO OVER IT. And I have SO MUCH TO DO otherwise! Like grade 130 papers, revise another paper and write a personal statement for my PhD application (another blog entry altogether), and (yes) study for the GRE, again... all in a month.
But off I go to revise this paper--again. Revision is about the "again" which I've come to know so well. Too well. Wish me luck...
FIRST RESPONSE UPON SUBMITTING TO RADICAL TEACHER:
Leandra, We may be interested in publishing your article "A Space of Our Own: My Space and Feminist Activism in the Classroom" in the Radical Teacher cluster on Teaching About and With Alternative Media. The idea of relating to MySpace and getting students to post things there about political issues seems worth pursuing. This could be an interesting and useful article on MySpace technology as a pedagogical and political tool.
However, before we could consider publication, we would like you to revise with more focus on the words "Feminist Activism" from the title of your article. We feel too much of the article is quotes from authorities or talk of what MySpace means to you personally. Instead, we would like a greater focus on specific political content students learn or express on MySpace and if and how the use of this alternative media fosters "Feminist Activism in the Classroom."
We like the relationship between feminism and MySpace that your article discusses, and we hope that you are willing to revise in order to include more focus on students and their responses to this alternative media. Would it be possible to hear back from you with revisions by around November 25?
Sincerely, Leonard, Bob and Pepi
Co-cluster editors for Teaching About and With Alternative Media
AFTER SPENDING THREE WEEKS ON REVISIONS:
Leandra, We would like to be able to publish your article "A Space of Our Own: MySpace and Feminist Activism in the Classroom" in Radical Teacher's cluster on Teaching About and With Alternative Media. However, before we can make a final publishing decision, we have some suggestions for revision which we hope you are able to make.
We find your article at its best when it is concrete and offers specific examples. We would like more of that in your revision.
[INSERT MANY SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS] (which i do, i really do appreciate)
We hope these suggestions for revision are useful and that you are interested in working with us towards publication.
Leonard, Bob, and Pepi Cluster co-editors of Teaching About and With Alternative Media Radical Teacher
Waaahhhh.
Friday, November 30, 2007
The Business of Being Born (changed my life)
Current mood: outraged
Last night, UCF hosted a screening of this film, followed by discussion with two midwives, an ob/gyn hospital nurse, directors from the Orlando chapter of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (http://ican-online.net/), and women who have had cesareans followed by vaginal births. I didn't know most of the information provided, and thought I was fairly educated. Almost 1 in 3 women have C-sections for low-risk labors--not necessarily by choice, but because giving birth has been co-opted by the medical industry, who forget that having babies is not a pathology, but a natural process that doesn't need medical intervention except in cases with serious complications. Healthy women are jacked up on Pitocen (which induces labor) to speed up contractions (can't have women taking too long to give birth), which makes labor more painful. Women are then encouraged to take (or beg for) epidurals, b/c of the increased levels of pain (and the fact that childbirth is painful, and many women are scared). The epidural consequently slows labor down, and b/c of the pre-determined timeline hospitals impose on women between the time of water breaking to labor, women are prematurely ushered into C-sections.
This is only a small piece of ONE issue related to "the business" of being born. The film blew my mind (and my students' minds--I brought my entire class to the screening) and if you have had or plan to have children (and even if you don't), the film will change your life. It's not available to a general audience yet, though they're pushing for it--but it will be available through NetFlix very soon. I'm going to ask the UCF Library to purchase it, as well. If I've ever encouraged you to see anything--you must see this.
http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/
Last night, UCF hosted a screening of this film, followed by discussion with two midwives, an ob/gyn hospital nurse, directors from the Orlando chapter of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (http://ican-online.net/), and women who have had cesareans followed by vaginal births. I didn't know most of the information provided, and thought I was fairly educated. Almost 1 in 3 women have C-sections for low-risk labors--not necessarily by choice, but because giving birth has been co-opted by the medical industry, who forget that having babies is not a pathology, but a natural process that doesn't need medical intervention except in cases with serious complications. Healthy women are jacked up on Pitocen (which induces labor) to speed up contractions (can't have women taking too long to give birth), which makes labor more painful. Women are then encouraged to take (or beg for) epidurals, b/c of the increased levels of pain (and the fact that childbirth is painful, and many women are scared). The epidural consequently slows labor down, and b/c of the pre-determined timeline hospitals impose on women between the time of water breaking to labor, women are prematurely ushered into C-sections.
This is only a small piece of ONE issue related to "the business" of being born. The film blew my mind (and my students' minds--I brought my entire class to the screening) and if you have had or plan to have children (and even if you don't), the film will change your life. It's not available to a general audience yet, though they're pushing for it--but it will be available through NetFlix very soon. I'm going to ask the UCF Library to purchase it, as well. If I've ever encouraged you to see anything--you must see this.
http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/
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