http://thefbomb.org/2009/07/sonia-sotomayor/
It's about Sonia Sotomayor - take a peek!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
SNL bit in my head all week award goes to...
WHAT'S YOUR SITUATION feat. Jonah Hill!
Seriously. All week, I've had this skit pop into my head everytime I say the word "situation", which is more than you would think ('what do we do about this ___ situation?' 'let's get that situation sorted out,' etc.). And then I want to start recreating it for whoever I'm talking to. But if they don't get the joke, I'll just look (a) creepy for asking them what's your situation in a kinda seductive-kinda not tone and (b) weird in general.
Regardless, watch & enjoy.
Seriously. All week, I've had this skit pop into my head everytime I say the word "situation", which is more than you would think ('what do we do about this ___ situation?' 'let's get that situation sorted out,' etc.). And then I want to start recreating it for whoever I'm talking to. But if they don't get the joke, I'll just look (a) creepy for asking them what's your situation in a kinda seductive-kinda not tone and (b) weird in general.
Regardless, watch & enjoy.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Meryl Streep, Julia Child, and the general mess of things in my head
So today, I woke up at 7:10 AM to take a quick shower and begin the 5 hour trek to Ithaca, NY for a weeklong Italian cooking class/family vacation-reunion-type-thing. On the way up, between eating 3 delicious PB&J (cold, but after they had already been toasted - DELICIOUS. THANKS GRANDMA!) I started reading the book Julie & Julia (by Julie Powell) for a number of reasons.
1. The premise itself sounded interesting.
2. It's the basis for the new Meryl Streep movie, and she is my IDOL (no, really, I LOVE her. And not just because she shares a name with my mom. More on that later).
3. It was only $7.99 at Borders (actually, $6.99 with my Borders Reward card, courtesy of my roommate, Katie. Thanks, Boo!), and had a rave review from Entertainment Weekly on the cover, and they are my popular culture gurus and I trust them entirely.
4. Let's just face facts here: it was picked up to be a movie. And that usually means that, although the movie itself may not always match the book (case en point: 98% of movies based off of books), the book itself is pretty freaking good and has some sort of a following, so there's always SOMEone after the book is finished who is willing to discuss it with you.
5. I'm taking a cooking class this week. It's about cooking. BADA BING BADA BOOM.
Regardless of my reasons, it's a freaking fantastic book. Well written, moves quickly - heck, I know I'm a fast reader, but I'm still astonished that I managed to finish 215/390 pages through just reading in the car and in the few off moments I got throughout the day.
So why am I telling you all this? Because - bear with me, I know what you all are thinking - Julia Child was (a) AWESOME and (b) quite the independent woman.
She was a spy for the OSS during World War II in Europe, and met her husband by simply being herself. She was fearless, outgoing - everything a nice housewife is generally speaking not "supposed" to be in the 1940's. She thought and spoke for herself, and went to cooking school in france not to become a famous chef, but to cook for her husband - but not because he was making her, because she WANTED to. And then she went on and created a HUGE career for herself so late in life, after she got out of cooking school!
And as for Meryl Streep - she's one of the greatest actresses of our time, and takes on some of the most impressive roles - but always ones where the women she plays are strong, independent, and most of all, relatable. Because after all, aren't those qualities we all strive for within ourselves?
Julie & Julia. read the book, then see the movie when it's out in theatres Aug 7 - I sure hope it's even half as good as the book, and gives the same message!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Check out my new blog post on The F Bomb!
http://thefbomb.org/2009/07/a-persepolis-reality/
Take a look at my debut blog post on The F Bomb - and give the site lots of traffic, while you're at it - today is it's launch!
Take a look at my debut blog post on The F Bomb - and give the site lots of traffic, while you're at it - today is it's launch!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Don't give up on me yet!
Stay tuned for more blogging! My schedule at The White House Project currently has me churning out research for our Benchmarks Report (look for it in October!) like a machine. Hopefully, once this slows down to a more managable pace, I can write about the list of topics that gets longer every day!
Look foward to blogs on:
- Women in comedy
- the Women in Popular Culture panel from the NCRW Conference 2 weeks ago (I know, I'm so behind!)
- How to deal with those negative connotations of the word "feminist", and the "are you a feminist?" quiz that inevitably goes with it. :)
Keep checking back!
-Becka
Look foward to blogs on:
- Women in comedy
- the Women in Popular Culture panel from the NCRW Conference 2 weeks ago (I know, I'm so behind!)
- How to deal with those negative connotations of the word "feminist", and the "are you a feminist?" quiz that inevitably goes with it. :)
Keep checking back!
-Becka
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Hot or Not - does it really matter? (TWHP Blog 6/10/09)
While I was trying to figure out what to write about this week on this lovely blog, I did a simple google search for Women In Politics, hoping it would inspire and make me write a genius blog post.
Instead, I found this article:
http://rightwingnews.com/mt331/2009/06/the_10_hottest_liberal_women_i.php :
“The 10 Hottest Women in Liberal Politics”.
While this guy seems fairly respectful and acknowledged that women in politics have enough to deal with as it is without people judging them on how they wear their hair or what color shirt they’re wearing; it did make me think.
Do these kinds of list have any kind of affect – good or bad - on the influence any of these women have in the media or politics? Or does it not matter? Some of my friends from school have said they’re always so surprised when they hear any kind of smart political thinking come from a pretty woman’s mouth – do these women and lists like this help debunk that myth that political women are unattractive women? Or, am I just over thinking everything?
Leave your thoughts in the comments!
PS – I’ll be volunteering tomorrow at the conference for the National Council for Research On Women (where I interned in summer 2006 and summer 2008!). Look forward to a blog post about it next week!
Instead, I found this article:
http://rightwingnews.com/mt331/2009/06/the_10_hottest_liberal_women_i.php :
“The 10 Hottest Women in Liberal Politics”.
While this guy seems fairly respectful and acknowledged that women in politics have enough to deal with as it is without people judging them on how they wear their hair or what color shirt they’re wearing; it did make me think.
Do these kinds of list have any kind of affect – good or bad - on the influence any of these women have in the media or politics? Or does it not matter? Some of my friends from school have said they’re always so surprised when they hear any kind of smart political thinking come from a pretty woman’s mouth – do these women and lists like this help debunk that myth that political women are unattractive women? Or, am I just over thinking everything?
Leave your thoughts in the comments!
PS – I’ll be volunteering tomorrow at the conference for the National Council for Research On Women (where I interned in summer 2006 and summer 2008!). Look forward to a blog post about it next week!
Set up your TiVos for a new kind of American Idol (TWHP Blog 6/5/09)
The wise C.J. Cregg once said, “How do you keep fighting the smaller injustices when they’re all from the mother of injustices?”.
C.J. isn’t a speechwriter for the Obama administration, or a politician of any kind. C.J. is a fictional character on The West Wing, and her words – quotes like the one listed above – have inspired many to get involved in politics.
C.J. Cregg, played by Allison Janney, grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and worked in Public Relations for a huge Hollywood firm where she was paid over $500,000 a year before she decided to work for President Josiah Bartlet’s campaign for only $600 a week. C.J. wasn’t afraid to jump in head-first, to become someone active in politics after being someone who wasn’t even remotely in the political sector – and her fearlessness paid off. She became White House Press Secretary after President Bartlet is elected to office, and White House Chief of Staff after former Chief of Staff Leo Mcgary passes away. She starts her day at five AM and lives, breathes, and eats politics. She speaks her mind to powerful political figures without a moment’s hesitation and stands behind her convictions.
C.J. Cregg isn’t just a political force to be reckoned with – she’s also a woman. She has to learn to balance family, friends, relationships, and her job – one of the processes that makes many women hesitate to get involved in politics. Cregg is intense, but she gets it all done – all with a soft sense of wanting to help in anyway she can. She’s proof that any woman, in any job, can get involved if they’re just willing to take the leap and let themselves.
You may be wondering why, exactly, I’m telling you all the intimate details of a fictional character’s life. It’s all for one huge, simple reason – so that we can all learn how strongly Television can impact us – and future generations – to get more and more involved in politics. And she’s not the only TV role model out there.
C.J. Cregg was more behind-the-scenes, but in the short-lived show Commander in Chief , Geena Davis played Mackenzie Allen, a female president – “Madame President” - and she was strong, powerful, and decisive. Right after she’s elected to office, her first act is to rescue a Nigerian Muslim woman who was sentenced to death by stoning for having sex outside of marriage. She made the decisions that only the leader of the free world could make – and she wasn’t indecisive, or a flip-flopper. She did what she needed to do; what she thought was right.
C.J. Cregg and President Allen have something to teach all of us. While many of us won’t end up becoming President of the United States or White House Press Secretary – we can take the lessons they teach us as strong, female political leaders and apply them to our everyday lives and even political careers; and pass those characters and the lessons on.
So what do you think? Do you agree that television has the potential to shape the way we look at history and at the potential for women getting involved in politics? Or is the fact that TV is a fictional world override all of that and instead make it harder for normal girls to relate? Should we be idolizing powerful women in TV faux-politics, or should we be idolizing those in the real world, or some combination of both?
Any way you want slice it, I think we can all agree – when a strong female character involved in politics hits the airwaves, we should set our TiVos to “RECORD” and watch what happens – because it’s bound to be interesting.
C.J. isn’t a speechwriter for the Obama administration, or a politician of any kind. C.J. is a fictional character on The West Wing, and her words – quotes like the one listed above – have inspired many to get involved in politics.
C.J. Cregg, played by Allison Janney, grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and worked in Public Relations for a huge Hollywood firm where she was paid over $500,000 a year before she decided to work for President Josiah Bartlet’s campaign for only $600 a week. C.J. wasn’t afraid to jump in head-first, to become someone active in politics after being someone who wasn’t even remotely in the political sector – and her fearlessness paid off. She became White House Press Secretary after President Bartlet is elected to office, and White House Chief of Staff after former Chief of Staff Leo Mcgary passes away. She starts her day at five AM and lives, breathes, and eats politics. She speaks her mind to powerful political figures without a moment’s hesitation and stands behind her convictions.
C.J. Cregg isn’t just a political force to be reckoned with – she’s also a woman. She has to learn to balance family, friends, relationships, and her job – one of the processes that makes many women hesitate to get involved in politics. Cregg is intense, but she gets it all done – all with a soft sense of wanting to help in anyway she can. She’s proof that any woman, in any job, can get involved if they’re just willing to take the leap and let themselves.
You may be wondering why, exactly, I’m telling you all the intimate details of a fictional character’s life. It’s all for one huge, simple reason – so that we can all learn how strongly Television can impact us – and future generations – to get more and more involved in politics. And she’s not the only TV role model out there.
C.J. Cregg was more behind-the-scenes, but in the short-lived show Commander in Chief , Geena Davis played Mackenzie Allen, a female president – “Madame President” - and she was strong, powerful, and decisive. Right after she’s elected to office, her first act is to rescue a Nigerian Muslim woman who was sentenced to death by stoning for having sex outside of marriage. She made the decisions that only the leader of the free world could make – and she wasn’t indecisive, or a flip-flopper. She did what she needed to do; what she thought was right.
C.J. Cregg and President Allen have something to teach all of us. While many of us won’t end up becoming President of the United States or White House Press Secretary – we can take the lessons they teach us as strong, female political leaders and apply them to our everyday lives and even political careers; and pass those characters and the lessons on.
So what do you think? Do you agree that television has the potential to shape the way we look at history and at the potential for women getting involved in politics? Or is the fact that TV is a fictional world override all of that and instead make it harder for normal girls to relate? Should we be idolizing powerful women in TV faux-politics, or should we be idolizing those in the real world, or some combination of both?
Any way you want slice it, I think we can all agree – when a strong female character involved in politics hits the airwaves, we should set our TiVos to “RECORD” and watch what happens – because it’s bound to be interesting.
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