An Evite Message

Delta Gamma Alumni -Wine Essentials 101

"Just a note that Tina does have cats, so please be aware if you are allergic and would like to attend this event."

They gots the crazy eyes.

I watched part of the South Carolina debates tonight. I realized John Edwards reminds me of somebody.

I'm sorry, John.

Apples to Apples

Let's lighten it up a bit in here, shall we?

I went to Tahoe last weekend. Are there pictures of the snow or the mountains or the pretty trees? Nope. Is there a picture of a funny round of Apples to Apples? Yes.

Will Smith was the winning play.

Lake of Fire

I saw Lake of Fire last night. It's a great documentary about the abortion debate. It was billed as being pretty even handed but I don't know who would view it and see equal merit in both the Pro Choice and Pro Life movements. Maybe that's because I prefer to call them the Pro Choice and Anti Choice movements.

None of the ideas presented in the film are particularly new, but it engaged me and it's probably healthy to discuss something other than Maria Bamford and brussels sprouts.

The movie is gruesome. There are scenes of ladies in stirrups with the tubes of blood and the whirring machine noise, and there are images of doctors aborting more progressed pregnancies and sifting through blood with tiny baby feet and stuff. There are also crime scenes of murdered abortion doctors and photos of women who died attempting home abortions. [FN1] The movie ends when a woman (whom the camera has just followed walking in, waiting, being counselled, then having the abortion), breaks down and sobs "I know I made the right decision, but it's just so hard." I cried myself from fear of ever facing unwanted pregnancy and the awfulness of that choice for other women.

The Pro Choice movement fails when it attempts to hide the awfulness of abortions. That thing in there is living, and -- left alone -- will become a baby. [FN2] Women know this and they're affected by the procedure on a fundamental human level. They're also affected by it on a painful physical level because there is machinery all up in their body cutting and sucking things out. It's awful. But is does not equal ought. The Pro Choice movement needs to focus on the fact that while abortion is tragic and a choice no woman makes lightly, that does not mean it ought to be illegal.

The Pro Life movement fails in a multitude of ways.

Pro Life loves defending the babies, but only when they're in other women's wombs. Preventing the pregnancy altogether with sex education and birth control? Not so much. Providing basic medical care to decrease our embarrassingly high rates of preventable infant death? Not so much. Educating that child and not sending him or her to war? Again: Not so much.

Speaking of war, the Pro Life movement has some nasty bedfellows. Like political hawks. And militia men. And racists. And sexists. And homophobes (cause the gays have so many abortions?). And my personal favorite: the ignorant religious extremists. There's a great scene in which an abortion picketer says abortionists are murderers and should die because the Bible says so. The filmmaker asks "Who else does the Bible say should die?" and the man answers "Sodomites," and points at a nearby group of pro-choice women (?). The filmmaker asks "Who else?" and the man answers "Blasphemers." The filmmaker asks "What's a blasphemer? Anybody who says goddamnit?" The man looks extremely confused and looks to a senior religious extremist nearby who answers in the affirmative, so the man turns back to the filmmaker and says proudly "Yes, anybody who says goddamnit." Ohhh kay.

Speaking of the bible, Pro Life forgets we're a secular state. Not everybody practices a religion, let alone the same one you do. Within a religion, not all adherents interpret things the same absolute black and white way. And even assuming you know how your God would feel about the abortion decision in every situation, that only suggests you should refrain from abortion. You can also work to decrease the number of abortions. But the law can't prohibit all abortions because of your God.

Pro Life just has too narrow a worldview. Most people recognize that pregnancy is the beginning of something. But people also realize that isn't the only value to consider in an abortion decision. There's the life and physical autonomy of the mother. The life of the father. The life the child would have. And if I'm gonna get really liberal on your ass, the fact that the environment doesn't need more population growth. The decision isn't made in a vacuum. There are simply too many values to balance, situations to consider, and shades of grey to muddle through for the government to make a blanket decision.

I'm ranting now so I'll stop. Just see the movie! It's good. To quote reviewer Harry Chotiner: "Kaye's beautifully shot film doesn't so much leave us discouraged by the polarization of the two sides, though it does that. More deeply, it leaves us saddened and weary because abortions are tragic and necessary, and it weighs on the soul to have to hold on to both of those truths."

[FN1] Apparently before Roe v. Wade, botched abortions were the greatest killer of women aged 18-45. And apparently if Roe v. Wade is overturned, the number of abortions will stay the same and the deaths will increase. Who will die? The poorest women, the women with the least education and resources to obtain a safe (albeit illegal) procedure.

[FN2] Dehumanizing the fetus also gets liberals into trouble when a pregnant woman is murdered. Is it just one murder because the other was not yet a person? No. To a happily expectant parent that is an unborn baby whose death carries the same anguish as a born baby. Perhaps the solution is again choice. The woman decides her pregnancy status, not the government.

Mom's Corner

"i placed my first ebay bid last night. i'm trying to find a wall tapestry to put on our toilet room's bare walls, and last night i found one that has a similar effect as the painting in our bathroom...trees, water, stone. i hope i get the bid since it was a great deal for a large tapestry. i'll know in three days. we also ordered frosted window film for our bathroom and the guest shower. i'm looking forward to the privacy and more lighting effect once we put that in.

ok...enough of my decorating news. you'll see these subtle changes in may!!

got to get to work now...maggie woke up with diarrhea last night and didn't make it outside in time. i've been working on cleaning and deoderizing that spot since 11:30 last night. uff da! she's so embarrassed too, poor thing. she feels all right today. that's good since she has graduation today at 4:45!! sit, maggie...not shit!!"

Heath Ledger died today.

It bothers me more than it should. I gasped audibly this afternoon, and spent the rest of the day wanting to come home, watch Brokeback Mountain, and cry. Seriously. Remember this scene at the end of the movie? Uff da.

Bread

More from the awesome Maria Bamford.

Diane Keaton

I've been meaning to post about her for a while, and how she's awesome, and then yesterday on Good Morning America she did this:



Oh Diane! Let's list some reasons why I love you.

Annie Hall - I love the dialogue and the wardrobe, and apparently many of your mannerisms and self-deprecating sense of humor were added into the role.

Woody Allen - Nice work, I understand the appeal my friend. I understand the appeal. And I like that you're still friends.

Clown Paintings - You collect them, and then you published an anthology of clown paintings, which I gave to my brother for Christmas a few years ago. I should give it to more people.

Father of the Bride I and II - You were married to Steve Martin, on whom I have a crush that is either wanting him to be my father or my husband, I cannot quite tell.

The First Wives Club - I'm a sucker for kooky exhuberant devil-may-care women (of a certain age).

Warren Beatty - He's beautiful. I enjoy his marriage to Annette Bening and adoration for his sister Shirley MacLaine. The man seems to love cool women.

Katharine Hepburn - I've read you admire Katharine Hepburn, whom I also admire. I like this comparison from the San Francisco Examiner: "No longer relying on that stuttering uncertainty that seeped into all her characterizations of the 1970s, she has somehow become Katharine Hepburn with a deep maternal instinct, that is, she is a fine and intelligent actress who doesn't need to be tough and edgy in order to prove her feminism."

Somethings' Gotta Give - You look good for your age, lady, and I like the age appropriate pairing with Jack Nicholson.

Style - I also enjoy smart tailoring and menswear. The San Francisco Chronicle described you as "easy to find. Look for the only woman in sight dressed in a turtleneck. On a 90-degree afternoon in Pasadena."

Elephant - You executive produced it?!? Just learned that, thanks Wikipedia.

Al Pacino - This is also news to me, but I love that you said "Al was simply the most entertaining man... To me, that's, that is the most beautiful face. I think Warren was gorgeous, very pretty, but Al's face is like whoah. Killer, killer face." Yes. Let's get a drink and discuss Javier Bardem and Clive Owen.

Blogging - You sometimes blog for The Huffington Post. Rad. Let's blog while we drink and talk about men.

Pieces of posts and comments I stole from other people whose blogs I read but whom I have not met.

I. Consadulations everyone! (Edith Zimmerman)

Her most recent post making fun of the NY Times wedding announcements included this awesome image:Fantastic on its own, but I loved the comment "if i were forced to get a tattoo at gunpoint, i think i would choose the first image featured in this post."

II. Best. Conversation. Ever. (Lindsayism)

I've been telling this story for the past five days, and it still makes me laugh:

Friend: I'm going to a notary after this.

Me: I've always wanted to be a notary.

Other Friend: My brother is a notary. Well, in Second Life.

(Everyone): !!!!!!

Her brother is a notary. In Second Life. Then:

Friend: He had to settle this dispute once and one of the people involved, a woman, well, her avatar was female anyway, pooped on his head.

(Everyone): !!!!!

Me: Wait, so she had to BUY the poop? With real money???

Friend: Yeah. Well, technically, she could make it.

Me: Out of what? Food?

Friend: Pixels.

....my favorite comment there was "I love being alive right now."

Caption This

Let's play Caption the Picture!

• "Am I a Baldwin brother?"
• "See these tiny scissors? I'm going to cut your rat-tail."
• "Am I wearing a pocket protector and a gold watch? Am I a science teacher?"
• "I support the use of hair gel."
• "Make sure the condom's not inside out."