Department Of Before We Go Any Further
Check out the “Introducing: Resistance” podcast, hosted by the Reply All podcast.
And by check out, moiself means put down what you’re doing and listen to it, right now. Okay; maybe take a pee break first, if you need to (it runs a wee bit – sorry – less than 45m).
It starts out with a gabby, somewhat potty-mouth banter [1] between the Reply All host and Resistance podcast producer, the latter who has spent the past year following Warriors in the Garden, a New York City, youth-led activist collection. The story itself is an absolutely chilling account of head-scratching, mind-boggling, Orwellian-level abuse of authority. That the subject of the incident, Derrick Ingram, made it out alive (I don’t wanna give anything away, but I don’t want to scare you off from listening, either) is amazing.
It’s a prime example of “This is why people are protesting and this is *what* they are protesting,” especially for anyone who wonders what the fuss is about.
* * *
Department Of This Guy Is So Observant – He Should Have His Own Blog [2]
Dateline: last Saturday, breakfast table. MH, reading the previous day’s New York Times, says to moiself , “This headline makes no sense.” The headline in question came from the article, Inspired by Trump, Hasidic Backlash Grows Over Virus Rules; it was actually the sub-headline which he found bemusing:
Orthodox Jewish leaders have seen a growing, raucous faction of young men in the community, tired of pandemic guidelines and resentful of the secular authorities.
“Hasids, tired of guidelines and resentful of authority?” MH shook his head.
That’s, *secular* authority, moiself reminded him. I, too, found the concept ironic, as in, Hello?! Do y’all know we can hear you when you talk?! ridiculous.
Unquestioning compliance with rules and guidelines and adherence to authority is what the Hasidic lifestyle – what any orthodox religious life – is all about. Using the pretext of obedience to their god’s will, the insular Hasidic communities follow rules and regs about what and when they may eat, where they can and cannot live, what language they speak, what clothing they can and cannot and must wear – like the Shtreimel, the bizarre traditional fur hat a Hasidic man dons for religious holidays and festive occasions and those times when a guy just feels like balancing a dead gopher on his head – what they can do for a living, who and when they marry, even when a married couple can and cannot have sex – every aspect of their lives….
But health guidelines meant to protect *every* community from a deadly infectious disease? Dude, that’s asking too much.
“Wear a mask? Oy, that would make us look ludicrous.”
* * *
Department Of Have I Mentioned Before How Serious I Am About This?
What with the looming appointment of yet another antediluvian-minded wacko religious conservative nominee to SCOTUS, the subject of attempts to overturn Roe v. Wade is once again up for social media debate. I like this guy’s pithy phrasing of the reality that some folk still don’t seem to understand, even as many of us – men and women, religious and secular, even a Mormon mother of six – have pointed out that all pregnancies are caused by male ejaculations:
There are, of course, reasons for abortion that do not stem from unplanned/unwanted pregnancies and therefore would not be prevented by preventing irresponsible ejaculations. If you’ve ever known a couple [3] who’s had to terminate a much-wanted pregnancy due to medical reasons you’ve had a glimpse at the pain involved…and if you think that no one you know has ever been in that situation, as a wise friend said recently, “If you don’t know someone who has had an abortion, it just means you’re the kind of person they wouldn’t tell.”
What with the upcoming election, the ongoing pandemic, the stresses and pressures all of us are dealing with, I often despair at the divisiveness of our political and personal discourse. That said, I’m still going to draw my own dividing line. If you don’t understand this point – if you are a man who favors regulating the bodily autonomy of women but not men (and if you’re a woman with the same opinions, WTF is wrong with you?) and are not willing to just MYOFB on this issue, please, stay away from me, stay away from my husband, my family, my pets, my car, lawn, my recycling bin, my pear tree….
Side note that shouldn’t be a side note, but a main talking point:
I’ve witnessed plenty of women being asked if they’d ever had an abortion, but have yet to see a man asked if he’s ever been the *cause* of an abortion.
Let’s change that, shall we?
* * *
Department Of For Those Who Wonder What Is The Concept Of Bodily Autonomy
Sub-Department of And For The Rest Of Us Who Think That Women Should Have As Much Or More Bodily Autonomy Than A Corpse
* * *
Different as in, lightening up the subject matter. It’s time to giggle.
* * *
Department Of The Following Joke Is Courtesy Of Sigourney Weaver
Yeah, we’re best buds, didn’t you know? She calls me up to share her latest jokes. The Sigster is quite the gagster, which surprises some people who primarily think of her as a flamethrower-wielding, saving-the-world-from aliens, warrior woman. This jest of hers had me in fits of pig-snorting laughter. [4]
My doctor told me I have to stop masturbating. I asked, “Why?”
She said, “Because I’m trying to examine you.”
* * *
Department Of Trying To Be A Good Citizen….
Even as I don’t like wearing a mask, I always do when I go out. But they are a problem for me; it seems like I bought about 15 different kinds, trying to get a good fit, but no matter what the style they don’t want to stay around my ears and are always popping off.
Do you remember the “earlobes” lesson? Maybe they don’t use that example in school anymore, but both MH and I remember that, when we were in our high school science classes, two basic human traits were used to introduce students to concepts in genetics: eye color, and earlobe shape.
If earlobes hang free, they are detached. If they connect directly to the sides of the head, they are attached. Free/unattached is the dominant trait. Scientists used to think this trait was controlled by a single gene; thus, it was a good illustrative introduction to genetics, with students having fun comparing earlobes, and going home and doing the same with their parents and siblings. Nowadays, geneticists think it is likely that several genes contribute to this trait.
MH said that my attached earlobes make it difficult for the mask strings to get a good hold. I’d completely forgotten that moiself has attached earlobes, until MH was helping me with a stubborn mask, and pointed that out. I had to pout for a moment.
I HAVE A GENETIC DISABILITY.
I WANT MY OWN PARKING SPACE, DAMMIT.
* * *
Pun For The Day
Never trust atoms – they make up everything.
“I swear, one more bad science pun and….”
* * *
Department Of Just Thinkin’
On my early morning walks, I listen to podcasts. When a podcast ends, depending on its length/how many minutes I have before I return home, moiself either tunes in to another podcast or switches to some music.
I’ve noticed that I walk faster, with the proverbial spring in my step, when music is coming through my earbuds. Occasionally I wonder if someone walking behind or towards moiself would notice the difference:
“Look at her – The Fresh Air interview must have ended and now she’s listening to The Go-Gos….”
Who could resist bopping to that?
* * *
Department Of Th-Th-Th-That’s All, Folks
Among the many observations of #45 which are supposed to be character- revealing is the fact that he is the first president since James Polk (over 170 years ago!) who has not kept a pet while in the White House.
Not true, sez moiself . What about his lap dog, William Barr?
* * *
May you have more bodily autonomy than a corpse;
May you take pity (but not patronizingly so) on we recessive freaks of nature
who have attached earlobes;
May you remember that, when it comes to boppin’ out to The Go-Gos, resistance is futile;
…and may the hijinks ensue.
Thanks for stopping by. Au Vendredi!
* * *
[1] But why the fuck would anyone who reads this blog object to that shit?
[2] Or, at least he should get mentioned in several footnotes.
[3] Or you yourself have been part of that couple.
[4] Okay, so I actually saw this on a NY Times link to famous people telling jokes…but I want Sigourney to know I would be a good audience for her humor, and we should hang out, some time soon. Unless she has a problem with PWAE (People With Attached Earlobes).
