Month: April 2011

Monkeytail beards? Actually quite fetching.

A Gay Girl In Damascus recounts a tense confrontation with two security thugs who arrive in the middle of the night and threaten to abduct and rape her. The father's monologue is a must-read.

(Hat tip: Amira Al Hussaini)

Shani O. Hilton is tired of getting hollered at:

Here’s the thing street harassment apologists don’t seem to understand when they say “don’t get offended just because a man says hello to you.” It’s just plain stressful being approached by multiple male strangers — especially when I don’t know how they’ll react to my disinterest [sic]. I’ve been yelled at, I’ve been cursed out, and physically intimidated. I’ve also been wished a blessed day. But the unpredictability is what makes it so upsetting. Even as I make the choice to avoid certain places, I hate it, because it’s just another example of the ways street harassment limits women’s access to public spaces.

I have never experienced this kind of thing, and am glad to be reminded of it. There were times in the past when I even made an effort to walk near construction sites because of the hotness of some of the workers. For some reason, I was never harassed. Once, though, I got lucky (for the memoir one day, I suppose).

Michael Kazin calls independents a "confused and clueless horde." John Sides buries Kazin in data:

[I]ndependents actually vote in predictable ways. Much more than partisans, they vote for the party advantaged by two fundamental factors: the economy and war.

Jonathan Chait sides with Kazin:

This really seems to miss the point. Of course voting on the basis of economic growth in the two or three quarters leading up to an election plus military casualties is irrational. That's Kazin's point.

Sides partially agrees. Jonathan Bernstein thinks Chait has a funny definition of irrational:

I'm not saying all voting is rational, but I certainly don't think that providing politicians with incentives to produce peace and prosperity would be high on my list of suspected irrational behaviors.

Agreed.

Massie defended coverage of the royal wedding. Kevin Drum seconds:

Here's how I look at things: all of us have cheesy crap that we happen to enjoy. For me it's Survivor. For you maybe it's romance novels. Or the Academy Awards. Or the CMAs. For other people it's royal gossip.

Yglesias is in the same ballpark.

Optimist from Brian Thomson on Vimeo.

This video was shot at the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah. Their annual Festival of Colors was a great opportunity to test the slow-mo capabilities of my Cannon 7D. After hearing Zoe Keating perform this song in Portland, OR I was inspired to edit this footage to her beautiful music. I hope that she and her son enjoy the video.

A new census reveals big changes in Mexican homes:

In 1990, one in five dwellings had a bare-earth floor. Now only 6% do. … More interesting still is what Mexicans put in those homes. More houses have televisions (93%) than fridges (82%) or showers (65%). In a hot country with dreadful television this is curious.

One of the weirdest avatar stories you will ever read, combining social media, sex, and espionage … and a Pentagon investigation.

So a man who has favored a wealth tax and universal healthcare rockets to the top of the Tea Party's list of favorite candidates:

Trump is the top choice of likely primary voters who are Tea Party members with 22% support, compared to 16% support among non-members. Romney is the top choice of those who are not members of the grass roots movement.

It's almost enough to make you wonder what really turns the Tea Party on.