This semester is already kicking my ass

And it's only been a week. It would help if I weren't sick like I always get at the beginning of every semester (you college kids have lots of germs), or if Abbie weren't sick as well, or if my damned financial aide woes would sort themselves out without my constant babysitting, or if my carpal tunnel arm would stop going all pins-and-needles, or if I had shoes that fit properly, or, well, you get the picture.

There are a thousand blogular things to blog about, but there are so many other bloggers with time that I won't bother writing anything half-assed.

For my own personal use more than anything, here's some awesome YouTubing instead. Think of it as a Friday Random 10, but from Saturday morning, not random, and with videos. And less than ten.



Wanda Jackson - Hardheaded Woman. Via Daisy at Feministe! Also, I love that dress. I would rock that dress.



Rent Soundtrack - Take Me or Leave Me. Yes, I love showtunes. So sue me.



Suzi Quatro - 48 Crash. I've posted this one before, but I really need the energy this would give me lately.



Liam Sullivan - Where Do You Think You're Going In That?. This is what I hear when certain feminist bloggers write certain things. A strawradfeminist, I'm sure, I'm sure.



Bikini Kill - Rebel Girl. While the song is awesome without question, the pro-Maoist fanvid perplexes me. Is it in earnest? (And if so, really? pro-Maoist? Way to exoticise and simultaneously not get another culture, dudes!) Ironic? Ironically in earnest like William Shatner? Not sure. Although I'm pretty sure I spot some clear-eyed gazing in there.



And finally, on a completely different note, Bob Marley - Judge Not. Although I kind of think officially it's The Wailers - Judge Not. In either case, it's advice I should probably take more often.

Well, tonight I'm going to try to clean my house a little, and do some homework (yes, already) and maybe even get some sleep. Wish me luck.

But on a quick random note

This is one of the funniest columns on the Olympics I've read in awhile, and also sums up my feeling on the subject.

But Costas is so hot to stir things up that he can't help overstating the entire affair. Like the square football announcers who tsk-tsk endlessly about "showboating" in the end zone like it's the end of modern civilization as we know it, Costas has been trilling about "class" and "classiness" among athletes for decades now, as if it's the pinnacle of human achievement to reach a seemingly impossible goal, and then celebrate by acting like you're waiting for the F-train. What kind of bizarre WASPy mentality suggests that raw emotions should be saved for the most appropriate time and place, and then expressed in the most proper, so-called classy way?

Bolt enjoys joking around with his competitors. One of his shoes was untied when he ran the 100-meter race. His technique is described as sloppy and amateurish. He polished off a bunch of Chicken McNuggets right before the race. He's that kind of a guy. He's 21 years old, for Chrissakes! He became the fastest man on earth by a long shot, breaking his own record, while every other contender huffed and puffed along several feet behind him. How would anyone dare to claim that he owed it to the fans to run even faster, or that he disrespected them by celebrating a little early? What in the world is Costas, space alien from Planet Honky, talking about? Why should Bolt care about class, of all provincial, bourgeois values? What the hell is class, anyway, but some arbitrary code that soulless, high-capitalist professional robots live by?

You know what I like to see in the world's greatest athletes? Exuberance, and joy, and tears. I'd like to see them rip their clothes off and run around the Bird's Nest naked. I'd like to see a guy who's fast enough to beat his competitors then walk slowly across the finish line while grabbing his package. There's your world record right there, motherfrackers. Take that, masters of the corporate-sponsored Olympic universe. I'm just too goddamn fast to heed your mortal concerns.

Heather Havrilesky continues to be the only readable columnist for Salon. Yay!

Anyway, back to school nd the Kafkaesque struggles. I'll be missing the Olympics!

It's that time of year again

I've been spending the past few weeks negotiating the Kafkaesque descent into absurdity that is the financial aide department at UNM, trying to get everything settled before the semester starts and finding that every time something has the slightest possible potential of getting half-done or going wrong or getting entered into a computer incorrectly or becoming fucked up in any way, it will, and it will be the most spectacular and disastrous possible fuckup that could have happened at that point in time.

Seriously, it's like they're annoyed at me for trying to pay them money.

I think I'm just going down there in my Viking outfit carrying my halberd and screaming Russian at them to see if that makes the process go any more smoothly.

In any case, school starts Monday so I'll be scarce. On an interesting note, my husband is also taking classes this semester, so we'll see how that works. Abs will get to spend a lot of her formative years on a college campus, which is cool, I guess. It's how I grew up, for sure. But I will be scarce probably for awhile.

Hey fashion industry!

More of this, please.



America's Next Top model is featuring a trans woman this season. I may have to start watching this show.

In any case, check out her walk! This reminds me so much of the attitude of the non-anonymous supermodels whose loss I was lamenting here. No blank stare, no robotic, trance-like movements, no scraped-back hair. She would bring any garment to life on the runway. Even the hideous ones the apparently crack-smoking judges of Project Runway seem to be favoring this season. WTF is up with them lately?!?

And along those same lines.

Via Broadsheet, Are You Ready for Men in Skirts?

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Although I wonder what flag that is? Anyhow, I love the combination of buttoned up/not so much, down to the formal shoes sans socks that this guy put together.

But I'm sure he's a slave to the patriarchy somehow.

To whomever designed Michael Phelps' hip-hugging swimming pants.

Thank you.

Actually, not that surprising, no.

Can we stop having a panic about fat people now?

CHICAGO - You can look great in a swimsuit and still be a heart attack waiting to happen. And you can also be overweight and otherwise healthy. A new study suggests that a surprising number of overweight people — about half — have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while an equally startling number of trim people suffer from some of the ills associated with obesity.

The first national estimate of its kind bolsters the argument that you can be hefty but still healthy, or at least healthier than has been believed.

Oh wait.

But, for those without elevated risks, losing weight "might be important only from a cosmetic perspective," she said.

Which means, of course, they'll still find a way to needle us about it.

Everybody watch this again. Because it's true.

YouTubing, Olympic Women's Gymnastics Edition

Ren's Olympic love got me browsing YouTube to find awesome old Olympic moments.

First off, Olga Korbut's 1972 routine on the uneven bars (which, IMO, used to be cooler back in the day). Just flawless. I love how the announcer notes "that's never been done by a girl," way condescendingly and the other announcer says "not by a human!"



Next, Nadia Comaneci's 1976 perfect 10 performance on the balance beam. Again, far more precise and elegant than anything you'll see today.



I remember watching this one. Mary Lou Retton in 1984 landing a perfect 10 vault and then figuring, hey what the hell, I'll toss off another effortless one.



And we've all seen this one, but really, it deserves to be seen again and again. Watch Kerri Strug stick a one-footed landing on an injured foot to win her team the gold. That's just incredibly brave.



Or how about this woman. Oksana Chusovitina was a gymnast on the Soviet team, and this year could potentially medal in vault and the age of 33. In a sort where most of her competitors are 16 (and some might be even younger, according to Bela Karolyi anyway). I'll be rooting for her for sure.

Olympic Thoughts

Thanks to the magic of TiVo, I've just watched the entire, fantastically long opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. I have mixed thoughts which I will now present in a totally disordered fashion.

First off, that was pretty much the most amazing thing I've ever seen on television, ever. No, really. Not even exaggerating. From the drummers to the beginning to the dancers painting with their bodies to the aged gymnast walking on air, amazing.

Secondly, Yao Ming is the tallest man in the universe. And did no one else notice the little boy who was walking with him was carrying an upside-down Chinese flag?

More seriously, as amazing as those images were, you know, this. Or this. It's difficult to appreciate the show the Chinese government has put on for the world when you think about the things they've done behind the scenes. Also, any paegent-based retelling of Chinese history that skips from dynastic China to 1978 is missing a significant chunk of the story. Don't think we didn't notice.

But then again, what can you really say about the Chinese government that you can't say about the American government right now? Any difference is a matter of degree, not kind. Torture, spying on citizens, environmental destruction, failure to prevent genocide, and oppression of workers for monetary gain are plagues on both our houses.

But, this.

But it's hard, after seeing the suffering brought on by the earthquakes in May, it's hard not to understand and be happy for China's moment of national pride.

I don't know. I'm confused, emotionally. Anyone else have more coherent thoughts?

*added** It's also pretty clear that the BBC is cooler than any corresponding television outlet in the US. Just in case you were wonderng.

This is pretty much the most amazing video I've ever seen on YouTube

Kind of long, but worth watching all the way through.

Lesson learned: don't fuck with whatever species of water buffalo that is.

Blogging? What's that?

I'm having too much fun enjoying the last remnants of summer.

This is what happens when you egg on your hyper two-year-old. WARNING: turn down your volume, lest you fall prey to her mighty squeak of doom.

What I've been up to while sitting at my computer watching Lost.

First off, season 3 finale? Woah.

But I made another purse!

Still haven't worked out the closure yet, and not sure if it needs a strap or if it's just a clutch, but here it is. I collaged the inside of this one, too, which actually may have caused some issues with the lid/flap closing correctly. It's a learning curve, I guess.

Thoughts?











Also, I really need to learn to take better pictures of this stuff.