"There's no law against poor people being on Boards of Trustees."

(Cross-posted from Musings on Arts Management)

A professor of mine posted this delightful Pinky Show video and asked readers (ostensibly, arts managers):

"Who creates value?  How?  What is the role of the arts manager (perhaps more than you might think?) in creating value and in deciding what we want to remember and what we want to forget?"

In all areas of the arts, I think the most responsive organizations are changing the subtle indictments charged in the video. Just because we want alternatives to the behemoths, does not mean the behemoths shouldn't exist. (Though, when they show they value these alternatives, it does bestow added value to them, for better or worse.) Still, whatever one is curating (museums, a concert, a literary festival), the thing is only going to be as good as the goals and chosen aesthetic of the person behind it. (And the artists whose schedules you can wrangle to coincide with one's own. But that's another story.)

On one hand, with the democratizing influence of the Internet, of course more people can reach more people, on every subject. On the other hand, arts funding often sucks. This is not news. Organizations with funding have more options than a person with neither a sheltering organization nor funding.

When Kim (in the video) talks about education teaching one what to think and what to value, of course there is some truth to that. But before one can change the system, one should be well-versed in it. (Duh.)

I am encouraged by the variety of art and artists who are showing up in DC these days. Some of it is weird and great. Some of it is weird and crap. These are my judgments. Support what you love.

Of course we create value when we stick a microphone in front of someone, or put them under a spotlight. That's why the more people get involved in creating that value, the better.  I will likely never be able to open a wing of museum or donate a million dollars, but I can - from my own specific, culturally-situated perspective - choose which voices I want others to hear.

Which is the gay one?

science lesson

Heard on my walk home:

"That's why tornadoes rarely rip through the middle of cities, but just kind of bounce around them."

I have no idea what the "why" is. So this is less of a lesson than an opportunity to make up science.

I imagined the city like a mountain, and the tornado bouncing off of it as some immovable bit of topography, like the Appalachians, and the tornado spun off in another direction.

Maybe the tornadoes bounce around the cities because all our collective energy, concentrated in this concrete pocket, is more than any tornado wants to deal with.

Feed Shelter Dogs in 125 words

(Thanks, Stephanie, for sending this along. And thanks for being such a pal to pups.)

Mention the Pedigree Adoption Drive in a blog post (by 9/19), and Pedigree will donate a bag of food to shelter dogs. Just for this they'll give 20 lbs of food to a shelter. (Wish I'd known sooner.)



Also, become a fan of Pedigree on Facebook, and they'll donate a bowl of food (and you'll hear about new cool things they're doing to help dogs).

Dogs rule.

Is this why writers shouldn't date outside the writer species?

(cross-posted from: here)

offended by rank OBJECTIFICATION of writers

There is this thing currently going around tumblr about why dating a writer is good. I think it’s nice that this thing is going around, because I like writers, and lots of us could use more dates. As a writer who has dated people, though — including other writers — I would like to offer some correctives to this list.
The items in bold are the alleged reasons to date a writer. I have replaced the original commentary with my bleak corrective, in lightface.

1. Writers will romance you with words. We probably won’t. We write for ourselves or for money and by the time we’re done we’re sick of it. If we have to write you something there’s a good chance it’ll take us two days and we’ll be really snippy and grumpy about the process.
2. Writers will write about you. You don’t want this. Trust me.
3. Writers will take you to interesting events. No. We will not. We are busy writing. Leave us alone about these “interesting events.” I know one person who dates a terrific writer. He goes out alone. She is busy writing.
4. Writers will remind you that money doesn’t matter so much. Yes. We will do this by borrowing money from you. Constantly.
5. Writers will acknowledge you and dedicate things to you. A better way to ensure this would be to become an agent. That way you’d actually make money off of talking people through their neuroses.
6. Writers will offer you an interesting perspective on things. Yes. Constantly. While you’re trying to watch TV or take a shower. You will have to listen to observations all day long, in addition to being asked to read the observations we wrote about when you were at work and unavailable for bothering. It will be almost as annoying as dating a stand-up comedian, except if you don’t find these observations scintillating we will think you’re dumb, instead of uptight.
7. Writers are smart. The moment you realize this is not true, your relationship with a writer will develop a significant problem.
8. Writers are really passionate. About writing. Not necessarily about you. Are you writing?
9. Writers can think through their feelings. So don’t start an argument unless you’re ready for a very, very lengthy explication of our position, our feelings about your position, and what scenes from our recent fiction the whole thing is reminding us of.
10. Writers enjoy their solitude. So get lost, will you?
11. Writers are creative. This is why we have such good reasons why you should lend us $300 and/or leave us alone, we’re writing.
12. Writers wear their hearts on their sleeves. Serious advice: if you meet a writer who’s actually demonstrative, be careful.
13. Writers will teach you cool new words. This is possibly true! We may also expect you to remember them, correct your grammar, and look pained after reading mundane notes you’ve left for us.
14. Writers may be able to adjust their schedules for you. Writers may be able to adjust their schedules for writing. Are you writing? Get in line, then.
15. Writers can find 1000 ways to tell you why they like you. By the 108th you’ll be pretty sure we’re just making them up for fun.
16. Writers communicate in a bunch of different ways. But mostly writing. Hope you don’t like talking on the phone — that shit is rough.
17. Writers can work from anywhere. So you might want to pass on that tandem bike rental when you’re on vacation.
18. Writers are surrounded by interesting people. Every last one of whom is imaginary.
19. Writers are easy to buy gifts for. This is true. Keep it in mind when your birthday rolls around, okay?
20. Writers are sexy. No argument. Some people think this about heroin addicts, too.

Alternate solution: it will be pretty much like dating anyone else who likes to do a particular thing, you know?

In DC Drag

I saw my people today.
Lots of them, milling around the lobby of the Center.
I smiled, but they did not recognize me as one of theirs.
I was confused and then I remembered what I was wearing, what I generally looked like today. Most days.
It made more sense, but still.
Fuck DC.

Or maybe they were just bitches.

The "where were you" post

Note: I don't think my story is particularly special, but there's something to be valued in having many experiences of the day entering into a collected, public mass of stories. A group story.

When the second plane hits at 9:03 am, I am still in my apartment in Hyde Park, at 51st and Dorchester.
8:03 am Central Standard Time.
I am up early (for me) because it is the second day of my first grad program.
(I had turned on the TV to help wake up.)
I watch the second plane hit, live. It is not surreal.
I call the school to see if it is still open.
The Pentagon has not yet been hit.
The woman gives me attitude, as if I'm some whiny freshman trying to get out of class. "Of course we're still open." "But the planes." "We're open."
Either she hasn't heard yet or the whole thing is still just some freak accident in New York.
I go to school.
We sit in a lecture hall and are told if we need to leave, it's okay.
A new friend without a TV hadn't heard anything.
I hear myself say, "Two planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York." "Oh my god." "I know."
Our conversation is quiet and sounds idiotic to me.
I feel generally safe where I am because, who would attack the south side of Chicago?
Unless they were aiming for the Sears Tower and missed.

The next night, watching the endlessly-looping news, I see Diane Sawyer in a rumpled white dress shirt. Her hair is a small mess.
I think how attractive she looks.
I think I am a terrible person for having dirty thoughts about Diane Sawyer right now.
I stop watching television, or only put on children's shows because everything else is news.
All alternative images are welcome.
I don't remember calling anyone to talk about it, and definitely not anyone one from my program because we hardly know each other and I am feeling shy, though most of us live nearby.
In the month between the attack and the start of war, it seems everyone here signs petitions to stop it, knowing our signatures will do no good.

Truth on torture

(marriedtothesea)

Where everybody knows your name

One of the "uses" of the new year (if we're going to look at it as a thing, and as a thing who we measure by its functions) is as a time of self-reflection. What we have done. Who we have wronged. What challenges have been met. How we can serve ourselves, our families, our communities better.

Go inside and seek our unspoken thoughts.

I am not someone who has to be told to go inside. I could be accused (by myself) of often living inside. I am such a regular guest inside my own head, they have a cocktail waiting for me in front of my bar stool when I arrive.

If you have prayers that float your boat, great. Everyone's relationship to all those things that could be labeled "faith" is, of course, different. What is most useful and resonant to me is mindfulness. Take a law and use it for what it reminds me to be aware of: kindness, justice, peace for all other living beings - all in practical ways that sound significantly less floaty and foofy when one stops eating animals and pretending not to see homeless people. It is not about divine pronouncements, as written by men. I think traditions can be equally functional on multiple levels.

So in these days where I spend hours in services with family, not particularly paying attention though still participating, it seems wrong to follow the advice of taking these days to go inside. If this time is supposed to be different or special, going inside does not make it so. I could use those days to stay out of my head by being further engaged in the service for those few hours. That seems like a false solution, though.

Perfect practice (of any kind) isn't my goal.
But.
If I'm going to maintain that I celebrate these holidays, something more functional has to emerge. Or else, it's just one more moment to press the "reset" button - something we can do at any time, anyway.

Happy new year - may you all figure out what you want to use it for.

The WTF file: Politics & Prose and Market Day

I loved Market Day.

It is a beautiful and moving graphic novel. I wanted to bring it to the LitFest, but it just didn't fit, ultimately, for the available slots.

So when I saw Politics & Prose, local independent bookstore extraordinaire, was bringing the author and his book to do a reading, I was chuffed. If we can't have him, I'm glad someone else appreciated the book as much as I did and wants to showcase it.

The story centers around an Eastern European craftsman, Jewish, who provides for his family as a weaver of beautiful rugs. His vision of the world, even in the shtetl, is through that lens.

Life turned to patterns turned to rugs.

He struggles; the Industrial Revolution looms large, so to speak. What to do when what one values doesn't feed one's family?

But WTF, Politics & Prose?! You schedule this book on Rosh Hashana?! (It's after the second day of services, technically after sundown, but still.) You don't even have the excuse of not being Jewish to say you didn't know.

First of all, that's just dumb planning. Plenty of your audience will be at big, family dinners.

Second, you're jerks. I'm a bit crushed.

Unless...

Unless this is some kind of commentary on how other, contemporary kinds of lifestyles are also no longer observed or adhered to or are hard to maintain. The assimilation of American Jews. Who would therefore now be free to come to a bookstore reading on Rosh Hashana.

I tend to doubt it, though.

The evolution of what I wanted to be when I grew up

1. Butterfly - There is a photo of little me on Halloween, arms out, drawing the attached streamers into the wind. Chicago Halloweens almost always mean thick, winter coats, but at least my streamers matched the extra layers. A winter butterfly in yellow and red and green.

2. Ballerina - Except I couldn't say my 'l's, so I'd tell people, my name is Haddey and I wanna be a badderina.

3. International Animal Rights/Women's Rights Lawyer - I'm sure this shocks no one. I first became vegetarian at age three when I refused to eat anything made of animal. And I got sent to 'time out' in preschool for arguing back to the teacher that you can't say boys have to be one thing in make believe and girls something else. And I kept arguing from the time-out table.

Turns out, I'm none of these things. Though if made to choose, I'd probably pick butterfly lawyer.


(Me and Ruth Bader, we go way back.)

Shocked! Shocked, I say!

Enjoy the comedy stylings of Married to the Sea with me, won't you?

tinker toys and universality

As I try to compose my thoughts on a previous "adventure," every other city pops its head in.
These other cities peek around, find reflections of themselves and tell me, "Me, too! I know that, too."
Every place is different, except for where it isn't.

Overheard in the elevator

[Doors close.]
Ohmigod, I can't believe I did that.
That was so dumb.
Why are you talking to yourself?
Out loud.
You should stop.
Because you're still doing it.
Even though you know you're doing it.
Okay.
No more.
Wow. I'm nuts.
[BING! Doors open.]

 (Photo: Robert Frank)

I was the one talking to myself, out loud, and commenting on the fact that I was doing it. Out loud. Life gets a little meta sometimes 'round these here parts. Or perhaps the word is just crazy.
I would say I worry about my sanity, but I've been doing this for years and the fact that it hasn't gotten any worse probably means that I have just as many filters in place as I did when I would do this, say, ten years ago. Hopefully, I also have slightly better judgment, too, but I wouldn't put too much money on that.

Useless secret of the day

I can name all the wives of Henry VIII, in order, and tell you their fates.

Three Catherines, two Annes, and a Jane.

Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Kathryn Howard, Katherine Parr.

Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, lived.

Tah-dah!

The embarrassing part of this secret: My refresher course on the subject comes from watching The Tudors. Which I think is awesome.

(I mean, horrible, of course, but awesome.)

Useless secret of the day

Bring me a pack of big, honkin' grape gum and you will have my heart.






PS- And if afterward you still want to be around me and my obnoxious gum chewing, I must have yours.

An open letter

Dear Prop 8 supporters,

Suck it.

Love,
Halley

Recent scenery

Sagamore Beach, Cape Cod, July 2010

I love peas! And maps!

(via somuchpun.com)

Useless secret of the day

Given the option, I will always choose black cherry soda.

Pot? This is the kettle calling.

My sister claims I take too many days to celebrate my birthday. In fact, I think it's fair to claim birthday privileges the week before and the week after my birthday. I think it's fair others do so, as well.

For benefits, take the following scenario:

MEAN PERSON: Eat something healthy for lunch!
ME: No! It's my birthday!
MEAN PERSON: Your birthday isn't until Tuesday.
ME: It's my birthday! Now get away from my lunch cake.

Or this likely event:

MEAN PERSON: Pajama pants are not an appropriate wardrobe choice!
ME: It's my birthday!
MEAN PERSON: No, it's not, but you've been in your pajamas since your birthday three days ago!
ME: TTTHHHHBBBT!

Two things you may notice - first, that  Mean Person loooves exclamation points. (As do I!) Second, that while birthday rules are always allowed, they may not always be advised. Third, apparently I turn into a six-year-old around by birthday. Fourth, I never know how many points I'm about to make.

As it happened, my sister managed to stretch her birthday this year TEN days past the actual date - Ten! - to her party yesterday. But because she is old and probably has trouble remembering how to count, I will let it slide. And because she's awesome.

But I never want to hear how I take too long on birthday privileges ever again.

Happy birthday, Lisa!

Have you helped a pup today? aka There's nothing wrong with being a soft-hearted liberal.

Feed shelter animals. For free.

Click it. Click it good:

And while you're at it, help to close this loophole that allows puppy mills to go without inspection or licensing if they sell online.

Sign the petition from the ASPCA here.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

"Do You Know What Your State Just Did?!" episode 2: Virgi-zona

In this second episode of the occasional series, "Do You Know What Your State Just Did?!", we get to marvel at how Virginians thought what Arizona was doing was so awesome, they wanted to do it, too. They saw another state beating them in racism and thought, that's not right.

Prince William county passed a law that requires police to question anyone they think is an undocumented immigrant. Actually, they say that police should stop and question all illegals.

A person can't be illegal. Her/his status in a place can be illegal. An action can be illegal.
But a person?
A person cannot be illegal.

When we use language like that, it dehumanizes people, which makes it easier for those with any kind of power (in position, in national status, in ability to speak out) to get away with worse and worse actions against those not in power.



Virginia, you don't even have Arizona's excuse of being on the Mexico border.

And please, stop trying to disguise your racism against Hispanics and black people with claims of national security, and citing 9/11. It's tacky.
(Oh, and it's also not accurate. But I think we already know you aren't all that interested in facts, anyway.)

Excuses, excuses

As I recover from an extra 56 hours of work (above and beyond the usual 40) last week, I consider one of life's most important lessons:

Wear good shoes. Supportive shoes. Comfortable shoes.

Learn from my mistakes. Don't keep yourself awake at night with your own pained wailing.

Because if it's too late to moan to anyone else, then you'll have to listen to it yourself.



(Photo via http://www.footopedics.com/)

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

You just bought yourself another Saturday.

Congratulations to my friends graduating this fine spring. No one but you can know what it took to get you here.
Sometimes it was probably easier than people thought, and then there were other things that likely did you in. But you finished.

I've finished in a stroll and I've finished hobbling. All of 'em count.

It's been a year and half since I finished my last degree, and I've had no urge to go back.

There are plenty of wise words to pass along, but I'm sure you have lots of people being serious with you. May I humbly submit some high school wisdom from the '80s, via Brian, Andrew, Allison, Claire, and John:

"Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did *was* wrong. But we think you're crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us... In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain... and an athlete... and a basket case... and a princess... and a criminal. Does that answer your question?... Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club"

And in other news:

I bought this lovely item:

1) I love maps. I have them all over my apt. A world map. Multiple city maps from places I've lived. If left to my own devices, I will stare for hours.

2) This is not so much a map to navigate by, as one by which to mark place. "You are here." I am here. Between two small 'a's and a large 'u'. Between three large bookshelves and a small kitchen.

3) The last single dwelling I lived in as long as I've been in this apartment: my parents' house, before college.

No, I am not fully unpacked.

Privilege

"Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - Tim Wise

"Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose."

Read the whole thing here: http://ephphatha-poetry.blogspot.com/2010/04/imagine-if-tea-party-was-black-tim-wise.html   It's worth the extra three minutes.

"And this, my friends, is what white privilege is all about. The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis."


(Photo via huffingtonpost.com)

"Dr. Dorothy Height, A Sister Whose Shoulders We Stand On"

"I join the nation in mourning the passing of Dr. Dorothy Height, one of our iconic feminist leaders. She was one of a legion of women who did not get the fame and recognition of their more famous male counterparts, but whose impact on the struggle for human rights leaves footprints so large they may never be filled. Much will be written about her legacy, but few know of the leadership she provided in advancing reproductive justice for all women."

from: http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/04/21/dr-dorothy-height-a-sister-whose-shoulders-we-stand-on/

"If she was the Queen Mother of the Civil Rights movement, as she has been called, then for me she was Voice of Race in the Women’s movement, always calling attention to the importance of fighting racism as part of the feminist agenda."

Click through and read a great article, by Loretta Ross. It's upsetting that I didn't know about her after all the amazing work she did, and for so long. 'Amazing' is a word that is thrown around casually now, but it is appropriate in her case.

"'Loretta, my generation was the one that opened the door so that your generation could get a seat at the table. The generation after you may turn the table over, but each generation has its own role in the struggle.'"


(Photo credit at link.)

First-world problems

It is one of the minor annoyances of my life when the automatic faucets either won't turn on or won't turn off.

It's like the faucet knows something about me existentially, how much I'm there or not there on any given day.

In praise of TV - or - Support your local PBS station

One of my favorite things about DC is that we get a bunch of different PBS stations from around the region. And I watch it because it has stuff I like. And that's it.


I pretty much watch all its types of programs, minus children's programming. Some of my more recent favorites? History Detectives and Nova Science Now, with Neil deGrasse Tyson, and I'm watching more Independent Lens, too.

When people rail against TV, I always think we need to define our terms. TV, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad. Anything in gluttonous proportions is probably not great for you. Anything that you abuse to the point of affecting the rest of your life is probably not great for you. But TV, in and of itself, isn't bad.

And all content isn't the same.

I wouldn't argue that the only thing good on TV is PBS or all bad things are on MTV. I mean, I really do love PBS - the music stuff, the documentaries, local DC arts stuff, the history stuff, the BritComs, the home improvement shows. But I also love some crap found elsewhere. And good stuff found elsewhere. And everything in between.

Saying you don't like TV is like saying you don't like food: you have to be more specific than just the general category for the statement to actually mean anything.

I come up with lots of random facts. People ask fairly regularly, "How do you know that?!" Usually? It's because I watch a lot of TV.

A guide to the crazy

The Illustrated Tea Party Dictionary - A Field Guide

Fascism: Any decision that does not agree with a right-wing perspective, approved by democratically elected lawmakers in various arms of Government and signed into law by the democratically elected President, is Fascism. Obama is thus Hitler. Both men were apparently known for their moderate views and hosting of seders.

Freedom: Is defined as the rights of any individual to do anything, without government interference, as long as those things do not include falling in love with a member of one's own gender, or deciding to get an abortion.

ObamaCare: Is the evil tool by which Government, the Mainstream Media and ACORN will take over the country and turn it into a filthy, foreign place like Europe where people have access to medical care even if they cannot afford it and are almost never pushed into abject poverty by the misfortune of getting sick.

Patriotic: Any American, preferably a Real American, who supports all wars, decries all foreigners and attempts to help the poor, even if poor themselves, is patriotic.

Read 'em all at the above link, with some amazing signs. And by "amazing" I mean that I am amazed that people are really this hateful and rabidly insane.


Someone send these people a dictionary - both for the actual meanings of words (which they very clearly have just made up) and for spelling purposes (which they very clearly need). Then maybe someone will take you seriously.


(Photo via gawker.com.)

Idiot conversation of the day

NONNY: So then you're leaving a week from yesterday?
ME: No, a week from Wednesday. Two days ago.
NONNY: But today is Thursday.
ME: No, today is Friday.
NONNY: Halley, it's Thursday.
ME: It's Friday!
(Insert a few more rounds of this back and forth and the reasons why it must be a certain day.)
ME: Omigod! It's Thursday!

I've been thinking it was Friday. All day long.
It is so nice to have an extra day.

This is why I should wear a watch - the kind that tells time and place and day and date and air pressure and friendly reminders. This is also the reason I meticulously keep a day planner in book form, so I can see whole weeks out in front of me. Usually, it's helpful. Usually.

Do unto others... as they have already done to you and you should really return the favor in order not to be an asshole

Meet Paul.

Much of the time, Paul lives on boats. Big ones.
He likes these big boats.
And the sea (where you find the big boats).

Paul is now yelling at the screen, "They're called 'ships'!"

Read Paul's blog for all sortsa neato sailor-y things, and some astute personal reflections on the state of New England fishing/lobstering.


Like Paul mentioned, we are pretty opposite in a lot of ways.
In a lot of ways that drive my little (feminist, vegetarian, liberal) soul crazy, and make my big (feminist, vegetarian, liberal) mouth scream. But Paul reminds me that we can all disagree without being disagreeable, and that just because the policy with which the other may agree seems stupid, it doesn't make the person (inherently) stupid. (He also reminds me that some conservatives actually do know how to spell and are familiar with rules of grammar.)

And his wife is totally hot.

Among the Righteous

PBS is showing a great documentary right now: Among the Righteous - Lost Stories from the Holocaust in Arab Lands.

You can watch the whole thing on the PBS website right now: here. It's 55 minutes and worth it. Interesting and enlightening. (There's also a bunch of interesting stories/info on that page, if you are in a "scrolling down" mood.)

I had no idea that there were over 100 concentration camps* in North Africa during WWII. Those sent there were either the Jews of North Africa (yes, there were African Jews), or European Jews who escaped to North Africa, but were sent to the camps upon arrival on the continent.

One of the items they open with is the fact that there are no Arabs mentioned in the "Righteous Among the Nations" garden of Yad Vashem, which lists those non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust. There are Muslims, but none of them Arab. This absence is not because none existed.

I think everyone would "enjoy" (appreciate?) this documentary. It does not come across as partisan. There is little editorializing. It basically just explores a history that has rarely been told and is hardly known. (Yes, I know history is always political in the manner of its retelling.) Personally, I know I've never heard of any of this (the camps, etc.), much less Righteous Arabs in the surrounding areas who rescued Jews.

Part of the reason? Then as now, those rescuers often didn't want people to know what they did because many didn't like the idea of helping Jews.

I am happy to hear of it. I only hope, in some small way, this can help people unclench their fists a bit and bring a little more peace.

I disagree with a statement they make at the end (which was something approximately): "By acknowledging him [a known Arab rescuer], they are acknowledging the names of all the unknown Arab rescuers."  I agree that it breaks the silence on acknowledging a group that had previously been unrecognized - and that is wonderful - but it is not enough. Acknowledging him is a start, but it sounds like an invitation to slack off in finding other names and a kind of dismissal. Had one of these people rescued my family, I would not be content with simply "leaving it at that."

Still, a very worthwhile film. Now go watch.




(*The film is not graphic, if that was a concern.)

Photo credits: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Please see the film's website for details, these images, and others: http://digitalassets.ushmm.org/photoarchives/result.aspx?search=north%20africa&page=1

Quote of the Day

"Nobody expects you to go get a job as Ruth Bader Ginsburg."

                                                                                               -Christine

Call for happy-thought sending

Everyone send out some happy thoughts (or your version thereof) to Sierra, a sweet puppyface of my friend Stephanie.

Sierra has been diagnosed with lymphoma, but is being treated and is progressing positively. Stephanie is obviously a huge part of that.

A hero to so many animals (and to people who care about animals), Stephanie has been in animal rescue and fostering and advocacy for eons. Personally and professionally.

Her mix-and-match pack at home is awesome.

She has a great post up right now about canine chemotherapy, a subject I knew little about. Read it. (And add her blog to your roll; she's a great writer, too.)

So send those happy thoughts.

Happy birthday, Baubie

Happy birthday, Baubie!

We miss you.

And don't worry- I'm eating, I'm eating.

Back in the good ol' days

'Justice John Paul Stevens, who announced his resignation from the Supreme Court on Friday after 34 years, may be the last justice from a time when ability and independence, rather than perceived ideology, were viewed as the crucial qualifications for a seat on the court. He was nominated in 1975 by President Gerald R. Ford, who said all he wanted was “the finest legal mind I could find."' (emphasis mine)

read me:
The End of an Era, for Court and Nation (from NYT)

"In an interview last week, he said that every one of the dozen justices appointed to the court since 1971, including himself, was more conservative than his or her predecessor."


Let's hope Obama reverses this trend.

It should seem odd to all of us that if we went back several decades on the Court, we'd see a far more liberal collection of justices. Not that they were so wacky and radical, but that it's easier to nominate a conservative now.

Conservatives often talk about the good ol' days. At least in this case, I might agree, nomination-wise.
So let's give 'em what they're asking for- a liberal justice.

Nope, this looks nothing like my lists... nope

(Thanks to Liza and her finding stuff.)

I hear snarling and maniacal laughter...

(Wherein I rant a little and then make a point or two:)

Is it just me, or are the Republicans seeming like the Lion King's nasty pack of hyenas, lately?

To say that they will filibuster Obama's nomination - a nominee who DOESN'T EVEN EXIST yet - is insane. That just doesn't happen for Supreme Court Justices. There are other ways of interrogating them and challenging them and their qualifications. These tantrums are getting old.

The Republicans can't say that they will just vote "no" on the nominee because the Obama administration won't put up a candidate who isn't qualified. The Republicans could only vote against the nominee if they could prove s/he wasn't qualified. That would probably be hard to prove, given the thorough extent to which Obama's team is likely to vet her/him.

During the Bush years, the Repubs could run wild with all the mean-spirited and illegal activities they wanted, because these activities were lead by W. And now they are cranky because no one is kowtowing to their sense of entitlement. Seriously, guys, you may be upset, but just take whatever meds you've gone off of, and start acting like moderately-rational adults! I'd even accept acting like Congressmen and Senators. But you aren't even close to reaching that level lately.

When Stevens joined the court, he was certainly considered a moderate conservative. And the court has drifted to the right around him - he's been there that long - to the point where he is now the Court's leading liberal.

If Obama didn't pick a nominee just as liberal (and hopefully someone relatively young), he would be a fool. It would be foolish to think that the Republicans would "appreciate" or be in any way happy about anyone other than another Roberts-type or Thomas-type. I know it's impossible to get Stevens's type of shepherding and influence over the other justices for important, tight votes as soon as the new justice arrived. But that could come with time, with the right candidate.

I don't think Obama is a fool - quite the opposite; that's what's frustrating here. While optimism and idealism are wonderful qualities to bring to any leadership position, naivete is not. Especially naivete that one hangs onto past its usefulness.

Come on, Mr. President. You have the political capital from the Health Care win. If you don't spend it now, it's gone. Truly replace Justice Stevens to the extent that you can - with someone who is a liberal. Don't go for the easy confirmation; go for the right one, even if it's hard.

Yakko's Nations of the World

I had this running through my head.
And now, so can you.



We could probably pin down the year this was made by the countries that no longer exist named here.
We could also just look it up, the date.
But I prefer the harder way.
(Shocking, I know.)

"Do You Know What Your State Just Did?!" episode 1: The Rebel Yell... about taxes, not slavery

My sister and brother-in-law live in Virginia.

They will make the distinction that it's Alexandria they live in - "NORTHERN Virginia, Halley!" - also known as the less-frightening, really-we-used-to-be-part-of-DC* Virginia. And they will also make the distinction that they voted for the other guy and would have nothing to do with the reactionary, racist, misogynist slug currently running the place and trying to bring it back a few centuries.

But still.

Until Northern Virginia becomes a state (not a terrible idea), I still get to hold up examples of its regular "No way, they didn't really just do that, did they?" actions, and sit smugly across the river in DC, with our gay marriages and our ... you know, lack of federal representation.

In what I expect to be an ongoing (if occasional) series, may I present the inaugural episode of "Do You Know What Your State Just Did?!"

By now, you've probably heard of the Governor's plan to bring back the Celebrate Confederate History initiative, and make April Confederate History Month. And you've probably heard how he didn't include slavery in his first proclamation, because he wanted to only include "significant" historical elements. He just wanted to focus more on history, he said.

Right, because slavery had nothing to do with the Civil War.

For details and insightful commentary, see of course Rachel Maddow, in conversation with Melissa Harris Lacewell. Start around the 4:30 mark: Bob McDonnell's "History"

Seriously, do yourself a favor and watch this.

What was shocking to me was that on a friend's Facebook wall (a nice woman I only somewhat know after meeting in an Arts Mgmt class), I got backlash for suggesting that there was any kind of problem with celebrating Confederate history, especially in the way it was being presented. (To be fair, many people just disagreed, perfectly respectfully.) And then, as these things always go, the tone eventually turned.


Everything was going along fine (some agreeing with the original poster's sentiment, "Really, Virginia? Confederate History Month?", but many other ideas, too), until some dude start screaming about how "this girl" (aka - me) thinks all southerners are bigots and racists, and how he thinks you should just celebrate the men and women who died, and the Civil War wasn't about slavery, but that's what the Northerners always say it is. The South just didn't want to be taxed.

Riiiight.

("But it is a significant part": it = slavery)

I was shocked that in this day and age, I was in the minority on this discussion thread (of a dozen people). Most of them thought the initiative was a fine idea.

I'll end with an exchange between my friend and the nasty guy.

GUY: (...)  Everyone is so busy trying to be politically correct and have actually forgotten there is more to it than just slavery.

FRIEND: I'm really not trying to pick a fight at all and I'm asking this with legitimate curiosity: What else is there that you are referring to?  Honestly, I used to defend Confederate history with this same language...I suppose this was related to growing up in the area we did...but then I could never really figure out what else there was to it all.

The RNC is now doing damage control.

And almost as bad as this whole business of "celebrating" the history (and not just learning it, in whatever mangled form it comes in), is the fact that McDonnell is just doing this to rally support from the Republican base. He is using it more as a tool to manipulate people more than anything else.

Though I wouldn't be surprised to find a Confederate flag in his office. You know, just as a symbol of history.




*While Alexandria and Arlington did indeed used to be part of the District, they went back to VA for the Civil War in order to keep their slaves, which at the very least makes their background a bit... murkier.

Happy AWPing

To all my little AWPers, have a fabulous time in Denver.

The last (and only) time I was there, it was on a train stop of a cross-country rail trip. (Fine, we got off in Salt Lake City, so technically not fully across the country. It was the middle of night and the twelve of us wandered the streets looking for lodging, watching for roving gangs of Mormons.)


After packing too much in Boston (this was pre-InterFuture, okay?), I was miserable with my awkward assemblage of bags - a duffel bag with wheels and a useless handle, a sleeping bag, and a food bag (all required items, but in too large a scale). In Chicago there were no little wheelie luggage carts to be found anywhere in or around our Union Station stop. I would've paid a small fortune for one. But alas, no. [Insert tears here.]

Denver will always have a special place in my heart for its Office Max that carried luggage carts and was within a twenty minute walk of the train station. The love I felt for this town, measured in suitcases, would've broken that little cart, which neatly carried all my crap for the remainder of the two-week trip. When the cart broke a few years later, after helping me with countless apartment moves, I said a little prayer of gratitude for it (and for Denver) before tossing the mangled, metal carcass into the trash.

By the way, there was nothing else in downtown Denver. Seriously. It was about 6p when we rolled into town and everything else had closed. Try not to get knocked up out of boredom.

What Happened at Constance McMillen's Prom

(Reposted from http://nmisscommentor.com/2010/04/04/what-happened-at-constance-mcmillans-prom/. EDIT: That site is back up, but I'll leave this here.)

What Happened At Constance McMillen’s Prom

Here’s the news, from a source I view as extremely reliable. The prom
the school district promised at the country club in Fulton was a ruse.
Only seven kids, Constance, and her date showed, and at the same time,
everyone else held a “real” prom at a secret location out in the
county.

This is all after the school district had represented to Judge Davidson
that Constance was invited to a parent-sponsored prom to be held at
Tupelo Furniture Market. The school represented that Constance was
invited in court filings, testimony, and representations by the school
district and its lawyers. In reality, Constance had not been invited,
but, based on the representations by the district and its counsel, Judge
Davidson denied Constance’s request for a preliminary injunction that
she could go to the prom.

The school reneged, or possibly didn’t ever intend to follow through on
its representations to the court. The parents didn’t want Constance at
the prom and didn’t want to be sued (as they told the Clarion Ledger),
and so on Tuesday announced the cancellation of the prom.

But what they’d done was secretly relocated it.

Shortly thereafter, the school’s attorney announced (on Wednesday) that
“the prom” was to be held at the Fulton Country Club on Friday. But
yet only seven kids showed up.

Meanwhile, there’s a rumor that school officials were directly involved
in setting up the “fake” prom.

I have several distinct reactions here. First, there’s a cowardice and
dishonesty to this that I would hope even folks who don’t accept
Constance McMillan’s right to be herself would find reprehensible.
Second, at times it’s crossed my mind that there were some folks out
there working in school systems who really loved the kind of petty crap
that went on in high school and get far too much pleasure out of
reliving it (this is not a comment on school professionals generally!).
At second hand, I’m sensing that in the folks making the decisions for
the school in Itawamba County. Third, at the back of my mind this
whole time has been my experience of being a ninth grader when the
Fifth Circuit decided they’d had it, and that it was time for complete
(rather than token) integration of public education in Mississippi.
One outcome was an immediate cancellation of school-sponsored proms,
leading in turn to private proms that, in the white community, became
sort of junior auxiliaries for the Ole Miss (or the like) greek system,
with all the exclusion and related snottiness that could imply.

I do have this recall of Kent Moorhead (to his credit) as president of
the student council a year ahead of me at Oxford High, making a large
thing out of trying to bring back school sponsored buses to out-of-town
football games (I think he won on that one) and school proms (he lost
that one). I’d hope for some student leader to join Constance in
telling the grownups how to behave, but I’m not holding my breath.

The prevailing winds of corporate interests...

"But it is a national shame that a Democratic President who pledged the repeal of the Hyde Amendment would proudly issue an executive order affirming it. How far we’ve come since 2007, when Barack Obama swore that his first act in office would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act."

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/03/22/fdl-statement-on-the-passage-of-the-health-care-bill/

But it's a start?

"There are many good and praise-worthy things in this health care bill: help for those with pre-existing conditions, guaranteed coverage for children, money for community health centers, and expansion of Medicaid and SCHIP. But there is also cause for serious concern. Never before has the government mandated that its citizens pay directly to private corporations almost as much as they do in federal taxes, especially when those corporations have been granted unregulated monopolies."

And this is why we need a public option.

Mineminemine!

And! I'm annoyed that when I work on this project it's just going to be seen as part of this whole genealogy trend.

Yes, I know genealogy has been an interest of many people since people began. (Wars have been fought over it, marriages set and dissolved over it... blah blah)

But still, when there's a show on it, broadcast in primetime on network TV, it's a trend.*

Yes, I know you can only do what you do and screw the rest. And yes, good work will always be good work (and bad work, bad) no matter the subject area. And yes, I know encouraging this interest only creates a broader market for the work.

But still.

For some reason, the related series on PBS with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. did not bring out the same reaction in me. Let's just chalk it up as part of my snobbish side.



*Okay, I very much enjoyed the one episode of this show I saw, and will likely watch the others.

In fact, I even expected to like the show on NBC. It's just another reminder of all all the work on my own project that I'm not finished with yet.

Hookd on fonicks werked fer mee.

On Who Do You Think You Are, Lisa Kudrow travels to Belarus, to her grandmother's hometown to find out what happened there to her great-grandmother during WWII. (Of course, they killed all the Jews. Duh. Only here it seems their was more involvement by German soldiers, rather than leaving it up to the locals.)

She flies into Minsk, which they describe as "now part of Belarus." Most of the region was old Lithuania. In fact, much Jewish life of old Lithuania happened in places that are now technically part of Belarus.

I think we can only claim towns now, and not countries. Official borders are tricky things.

While there, her guide who runs a Jewish museum takes her around. I am jealous that she has everything - every conversation - on tape.

Her guide is able to translate what she finds in the archives immediately and follow up on the leads. I am jealous of this immediate translation. I have data from the archives, but because I couldn't speak any of the languages in which it was written (only identifying names when I saw them and take a photo of it for later), I couldn't follow up on anything. Not that there was anything to follow up on, necessarily, but maybe...

I remember cursing myself for not knowing Russian and not knowing Yiddish as I sat with the documents. "Why don't I speak Russian???" Yes, I'm prone to drama, but I'm also someone who understands the world primarily through language and text. I am someone who interacts with the world through language and text.

To be foiled by language and a lack of basic literacy is more frustrating and hurtful to me than any other kind of roadblock.

"Guaranteed Swahili!"

It's time to learn Russian. And Yiddish.

Or, it's time to corral my Russian- and Yiddish-speaking friends and relatives, and use their translating abilities.

I still want to learn the languages. A dozen times in my life it would've been helpful to speak Yiddish.

If you're Jewish and you travel and you want to know things or read things or talk to people who not many others can speak with, learn the effing language.

And by that, I mean: "Halley, learn the effing language."

For those of us in DC, needing to learn new snow-time skills

xkcd.com

Waiting for the intermissions in this one mass snow storm we're calling "Winter"

A friend inquired if I'd been out to see that the roads were passable again after all the snow. I responded, I know. It's crazy.

The world is new again.
Or at least it will be after all this damn snow melts.
And then all the mud and pebbles and general smoosh are washed away by a good rain.
And then we get small winter heat wave so that water doesn't freeze into ice.
Then, the world will be new.
Until it snows again.

Granted, I've only been to the lobby of my building to see out the front doors, from behind their glass. (My windows are on the side of the building, giving me an angled view of the building next door and the building behind us. All in all, a skewed view.) I was out two days ago before this last storm, and I'll go out again tomorrow... before the next storm hits this weekend.

Because of Rob, who asked for a blog post today about something unexpected

I just watched Henry Louis Gates, Jr's new series on PBS, Faces of America. It's a geneology project taking twelve well-known Americans as its subjects. (It's good; you should watch it.)

Mike Nichols said something interesting tonight. He found out that certain Russian great-uncles of his were killed (one was tried and shot the same day) and he didn't know anything about them, that they'd ever existed. They talked about guilt and Mike said basically that it was no different than the guilt over all the rest of it - the not knowing and everyone being killed. "But the only thing you can do with guilt, other than bury it, is to do something worthwhile, make something good from it." (quote approximate) He called himself a putz for ever complaining about anything because he is just so lucky to be here, to have survived, when so many people didn't. It is so unlikely to have all possible events allow him to make it here and live that he should never have complained about anything.

And it's true - it is so unlikely that all of my great-grandparents (and their parents, etc) were able to survive, and then make it out of Europe around the turn of last century. For me to be here now is just lucky.