The United States of McDonald’s

sent:

reasoning:

driving down a seemingly barren highway suddenly interrupted by big box stores, Stephen Von Worley felt inspired to ‘gauge the creep of cookie-cutter commercialism‘. mapping out McDonalds locations across the United States with the nifty data tool, Aggdata.com, he came up with this. notice how the McDonalds hug the coasts and borders of the US to form essentially what is a map of the US. the United States of America? or the United States of McDonalds? Hmm…  The farthest isolated spot in the 48 states from a McD’s is between the tiny Dakotan hamlets of Meadow and Glad Valley: 107 miles away, 145 miles by car. I wonder what mapping the McDonalds across the globe would turn out.

Amy On Traveling

Amy T. is one of my longest, closest friends. I’ve known her for more than 10 years, starting with our younger days at Princeton Chinese Language School teaching Chinese Knotting and trying to learn Chinese. She’s been one of the busiest people I’ve known, always off doing amazing things – getting involved in this program, applying to this school, making plans with friends to visit this place, etc.  She just finished this great roadtrip across the country where she and her friend Pin recorded their scavenger hunt as they drove from NJ to CA to drop Amy off at Stanford where she is starting an engineering Ph.D. yep, she’s incredibly smart, well-traveled, laid-back, totally fun, and i get to call her ‘friend’.

considering my incessant wanderlust, i was inspired by this recent NYTimes article Q&A With Beth Whitman, a Woman’s Perspective on Solo Travel to ask amy about her traveling experiences. this is the first in a new series i’m starting of interviewing friends on a topic they have expertise on or at least a lot of experience in. I’m still working on finding an appropriate program to record skype conversations, somehow the one i was using didn’t fully record, and also deleted itself after the trial 30 days was over. so, against all journalistic integrity, parts of this are paraphrased. BUT without further ado: Amy on Traveling.

Why did you choose this type of program for your next travels? [Amy's headed to Romania for a Habitat for Humanity trip]

I’ve wanted to go to Eastern Europe for awhile. Plus my friend, Nancy, brought up the idea of a service trip. I’ve heard Romania is beautiful, this just seemed like a great opportunity.

Is it better to be a tourist, a student, or a worker?

I prefer a combination of all three. i like having some structure, and it’s safer to travel as a group.  I liked being a student abroad because it made everyday things like late-night food runs, or figuring out a library system seem like new.

Any advice for travelers, especially women traveling alone?

I really don’t like traveling alone. Even if it’s 2 girls, it doesn’t feel safe. its better in a group, guys will look out for you. it’s sad but that helps a lot.

Why do you keep traveling? Any life or world lessons learned?

Ease into traveling, its much easier to travel somewhere where you know the language. So if that’s English, seriously, go with England first. Without sounding corny, I keep traveling because you really can learn so much from new and different people and cultures.

What other places are next on your list?

I’m trying to see more of the US, I think we forget there are some great places right in our own country. I’ve also wanted to go to Italy for a long time. I love Italian food, great art and architecture.

why women’s colleges are still relevant

sent:

Forbes Why Women’s Colleges are Still Relevant

reasoning:

i feel like i may spend the rest of my life explaining why i went to a women’s college, Smith College, or whether i’m a crazy radical lesbian [some of those may apply depending on the day]. the relevance of women’s colleges has been something i’ve definitely grappled with, but ultimately i always come to the conclusion that they are still needed and important today. certainly my college experience would have been different if it were co-ed, but now that i’m out in the ‘co-ed’ world, i can’t say i feel like i missed out on a lot. there were periods when i wish i went somewhere else, but that had more to do with the intensity and ‘bubble’ of Smith, less with its single-gender demographic. being in an all-women environment doesn’t freak me out but i’m rather comfortable in it. i learned to really speak up for myself at Smith, and so much of my personality and interests have started and evolved from my time there, so i can’t say that I regret having gone there. now if only the alumnae network could kick in to get me a job, i’d be singing the ultimate praises of the school from every high place in DC. but in all seriousness, i’m glad i went.

women take over job market

sent:

USAToday: Women gain as Men Lose Jobs

reasoning:

Recent numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that for the first time more women are currently employed than men. women entered the workforce in expansive numbers during the wars of I and II b/c men were off fighting, and while we’re in a war situation now, this increase is attributed more to the recession. The industries hit hardest by the current crisis are those in construction and manufacturing, still heavily male-dominated sectors. While the few industries that seem to still be growing are healthcare, education and government, two of which are heavily female-dominated. so while there’s been a tipping of labor scales by gender, the industries affected are still one gender dominated and very much the same. “The change reflects the growing importance of women as wage earners, but it doesn’t show full equality”, says Heidi Hartmann of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, wage-wise-> women are still earning less than men. and men still hold most of the high-level executive jobs. this news isn’t to mark a turning point or new ear in the American payrolls, but simply to note that more women are working now than men, by sheer numbers, not by more jobs or increased wages across the job board.

when is sex done?

sent:

RealityHealthCheck: How do You Tell When Women Are Done With Sex?

reasoning:

at first, it seems like an easy: sex is over when the male ejaculates. that’s certainly the answer the mainstream media subscribes to -> i’m not even referring to porn, but soap operas, ‘adult’ shows, and anything coming-of-age related. this was a discussion DF and i had frequently, and perhaps part of the reason why i’ m still attached to him -> i’ve never been able to have such an honest talk with anyone else.  for him, male ejaculation declaringsex to be over was the biggest fallacy, and we had a very open exchange of pain/pleasure and animalism/human. but the female orgasm is a tricky thing. and the concept that sex ends with orgasm may be even trickier or more complex to articulate.

But often enough in your sex life, you’ll probably find that reaching orgasm once, for you or your partner, doesn’t automatically turn off your or their desire for more sex or other kinds of physical intimacy.

the quest for multiple orgasms seems to be the trophy prize at the end of a sexual conquest, some people think one orgasm: gold medal. multiple orgasms: the stanley cup. but its really to each its own. as Heather Corinna writes, much more eloquently in her post, sex is more than the physical, but about the parties involved verbalizing what each wants: whether they are satisfied or want to continue for more. maybe the intensity of the first is all you need, or maybe the push for multiple orgasms is for the sole pleasure of one partner. this, of course, can get convoluted by the faking of orgasms, you only have to watch When Harry Met Sally to see how easy it is.

Sometimes, we just aren’t connecting enough physically or emotionally to continue with sex, we get distracted and lose the mood, or just aren’t feeling well or energetic, even if we really wanted to be sexual at first.

i’ve been trying to separate the emotional from the physical in sex b/c i’ve been on the receiving end of ‘no emotional attachment’ so many times, as much as i know i’m setting myself up for pain and failure, i’m determined to be the person who seeks sex out for personal physical pleasure (the 3 P’s!). what i’ve written above about the importance of connecting during sex isn’t contrary to my mission but rather demonstrates why i’ve been having a hard time making it happen. maybe i watch too many romantic comedies and/or maybe i haven’t slept around enough. drunken hookups are a whole other bag. i don’t expect romantic, long relationships from sleeping with someone, i think my fault is i want at least a friendship. we’ve shared this intimate moment, and no matter how raw or animalistic it was, at the end, we’re still human so let’s at least acknowledge what happened. i ’m the girl who still expects a phone call the next day. 

 

Questions for Ellen John Sirleaf

sent:

NYTimes Magazine: Madame President

What does that say about the inherent character of men? [referring to the young Liberian boys who raped an 8-year old Liberian refugee in Phoenix, AZ]: I just think that unless you have that cohesiveness in the family unit, the male character tends to become very dominant, repressive and insensitive. So much of this comes also from a lack of education. As more men become more educated and women get educated, teh value system has to be more enhanced and the respect for human dignity and human life is made better.

If women ran the world, would wars still exist? No. I think it would be a better, safer and more productive world. A woman would bring extra dimension to that task – and that’s a sensitivity to humankind. It comes from being a mother.

But if women had the power, they would be more likely to acquire the negative traits that breed power, like selfishness and territorialism.  It would take a very long term of women absolutely in power to get to the place where they became men.

reasoning:

the stripped down, basic feminist slant is too obvious here: the physical differences mean an inherent psychological, mental difference, the venus vs. mars argument. its a bit troublesome that the NYTimes, already well-accused and known for its liberal, ‘radical’ bias, ends this article with “INTERVIEW HAS BEEN CONDENSED AND EDITED”, but its still telling that the leader of Liberia believes in the inherent differences between men and women, and that they affect government and societal operation.

much of Sirleaf’s words about the nature of female leadership reminds me of Justice Sotomayor’s infamous “Wise Latina” comment. it’s not just being a parent that brings out a certain humanity and “sensitivity to humankind’,-> it’s being a mother. she continues by saying the differences are so stark, even if women ruled the world, it’d take us a ‘very long term’ [which i'm thinking means thousands of years], to get to the level of deep problems and ’inherently’ dangerous cycles of injustice, and conflict we have today in a world that has been ruled and dominated by men. Sirleaf’s comments are indeed inflammatory and easily offensive that she treats the inherent different nature of men and women so superficially. But she does bring in the importance of the family unit, and literacy. she is railing against men as the source for why the world and  society/culture are the way they are today. but moreover, i think she’s calling for a better and stronger education across the board.

Girls Rock! DC, 9:30 Club

sent:reasoning:

what an empowering and ultimately inspiring show. more about Girls Rock! DC and to donate money/time/equipment here

more pictures of the show here, Meaghan Gay publicity stills here

at one point, a counselor shouted “didn’t you wish we had something like this when we were young?” YES, how i wish i did.

Senate Approves Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, 68 to 31

sent:

Washington Post: Senate Votes 68 to 31 to Confirm Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court

reasoning:

really cool graphic sent over the Emily’s List listserv. its a striking visual that goes beyond the superficial arguments of Affirmative Action in terms of gender, or race and the uproar of Sotomayor’s “Wise Latina” comment. Just looking at what the implications of this image mean, and how this may be the start of a change in the make-up of the Supreme Court, once some Justices start dying or resigning, is incredibly exciting.

blogs falling in an empty forest

sent:

NYTimes: When The Thrill of Blogging is Gone…

reasoning:

 oh how i can relate to this article. when i first started this blog, i did do it out of a small wish for fame and notoriety, not so much that people would be logging on to read about the party i went to last night, or the amazing cardamon bread pudding i made over the weekend, but i had hoped the idea behind this blog would catch on. people would start using the “no postage necessary” envelopes to send in poetry, love letters, or intellectual articles to the credit card application collection centers. soon, i’d have to created another blog to just post the responses and reasonings, something more along the lines of PostSecret with substance and commentary on social disconnect and loneliness, rather than just community picture submissions like upsidedowndogs  or look at this fucking hipster (as entertaining as it is to scan through that site every now and then). i want commenters, i want more people saying “hey, cool post”, or sending me emails about paper goods they’ve sent in to the collection centers and why.

but also, i know of the ease to start something and not complete it: diets, workout routines, fictional novellas, etc. blogging really could just be the internet fad of the 21st century, and the thought of all the abandoned blogs out there pains me to think of all the WWW space they’re uselessly and inefficiently taking up. [certainly not to say, nopostagerequired is contributing to the greater good and worth however much GB it’s using). plus, i’m reminded that i’ve got to go and delete that embarassing, old LiveJournal I wrote back in high school. another reason i started this blog was the hope that it’d encourage me to write more. if i was writing, however informally, on a consistent basis> that can only help me practice and perhaps make all the papers in graduate school much easier to complete. but alas, i’ve fallen too often into the “sorry, i haven’t posted here in awhile” trap, and sometimes this blog becomes a nagging chore that’s always in the back of my mind to work on, much in the same way of starting art projects, that Census Bureau application, or that morning workout. i will write here that I am attempting to write here at least 4 times a week until it becomes routine. it’s taken me more than a year, but i’ve at least gotten to 100+ posts, it’s somewhat reassuring that nopostagerequired won’t be listed on One Post Wonder, i’ve jsut to be more diligent in keeping it up. onward >

Betty Brown asks Asian Americans to simplify names

recipient:

National Organization for Women/ PO Box 1848/ Merrifield, VA 22116-9899

sent:

Houston Chronicle: Lawmaker defends comment on Asians

reasoning:

when Ramey Ko from the Organization of Chinese Americans addressed the Texas State House about voter identification legislation and name ID discrepancy issues (often between legal transliterate names and within the Asian American community, Representative Betty Brown asked “Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?”. check out the video here.

WHOA. so many things:  that she asks Mr. Ko and OCA to behoove “its” citizens, like they have any sort of power or control over the entire Asian American population to urge them to change their names. while i understand Mr. Ko represents the Organization of Chinese Americans, Representative Brown continually asking questions about the Chinese, Chinese names, and elections back in China is another case of ignorant non-Asians assuming all Asians are Chinese. that Rep. Brown just wants people to change their names for the ease of others and the American English system downplays the significance of names and an aspect of one’s identity to the outside world, and maybe even more etymologically and culturally interesting/silly is that Rep. Brown’s name is “Betty Brown”. it’s true that many Asian Americans have casually adopted names like “Stan”, “Robert” or “Sally” so communication with American counterparts is easier, but that is their own choice. i have wondered how my life would be different if i went by my Chinese name “Yiming” instead of Iris. but choice of identification and representation is key here because it’s personal and individual. i watched Affair of the Necklace last night (wouldn’t recommend it except to look at French period clothing and Adrian Brody or Simon Baker with long curly hair), but the story is about one girl trying to restore her family’s name, and thus reputation. while speaking in front of the court, Jeanne de la Motte-Valois pleads ‘Monsieur, you out of all people know the importance of a [god-given] name and a home where it can flourish…’

Statements from Representative Brown’s office initially said the quote was taken out of context, and the “race card” was being used to divert attention from the real issue of voter identification. However, in recent days since Thursday, she has released an apology through her office and through a personal phone call to Ramey Ko. I have to agree with Mr. Ko’s reaction, because an apology about simply the phrasing Rep. Brown used disregards the heavy implication behind her words, even in the broadest terms of cultural and ethnic identity, the ‘minority’ concept, and who is an american. Rep. Brown may not think she’s being racist, elitist, or coming from a position of privilege (race, class, government representative, etc), and that too big of a deal was made out of nothing, but her comments, whether or not implied, point to deeper points of discrimination we all still need to deal with: yes, most people agree that everyone is (for the most part) equal, but past that one thin, superficial line – there is more complex thinking and processing about implications and equality to what extent that still needs to be done.