(I Love) Lists

Hey, ‘Lady’! An Exchange – Using ‘lady’ instead of ‘girl’ or ‘woman’

To My Male Relatives on Facebook Who “Like” Sexism: “Listen, I don’t think you’re an asshole who thinks it’s funny to do something that women find scary. You’ve been raised to think that this sort of stuff is all in good fun.”  A great article by Jessica Valenti.

How Great Would It Be to Relaunch ‘Golden Girls’?  “But networks don’t trust young people to like old people.”

The lady who helped inspire “A League of Their Own” passed away: Lavonne “Pepper” Paire-Davis

But What About Beyonce’s Band?  I dig Beyonce but her band of ladies rocks out in a big way.

Why Do Women Hate Anne Hathaway (But Love Jennifer Lawrence)?  This an interesting examination of the qualities we find ourselves resisting in others.

Exploring Gender in Cowgirl Narratives  The beginning of a blog series re: women and our ideas of gender and power through an examination of the archetype of cowgirl in different types of media.

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Here’s a short list of well-known ladies I think I would be friends with…if we were to ever meet.  None of these are rocket science, as far as I’m concerned.  There’s clearly a common thread of laughter involved in these pseudo-friendships.

1. Amy Poehler.  I know I’m not alone in this one.  Her laugh is infectious.  She speaks her mind & contributes.  Check out “Ask Amy” where she responds to questions from teenage girls.  I love that she speaks out about feminism.

2. Tina Fey.  She’s a great comedy writer and a hard worker.  She believes in women.  She wrote a great book.  Remember when she and Amy were doing Weekend Update together?  Those were some funny times.

3.  Rashida Jones.  I clearly dig her style.  I also like that she didn’t like the roles that were being offered to her so she went out and wrote her own screenplay!  Get it, girl.

4.  I would invite Rachel Maddow to my dinner party but most likely still be intimidated by her intelligence.  She has been open about her struggle with depression, which I also admire from someone in the public view.

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• Beth Ditto discusses ‘Skinny Privilege’, her Fiancee, & making things a ‘a lot f-ing easier’ for other plus-size women
• It was Hillary Clinton’s 65th birthday in October so here are 65 reasons to love her.  Amongst my favorites are #28 (chocolate shoe cake!) and #65: “It is no longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as separate from human rights.”
• I never thought I’d be linking to an article from GQ, but here goes nothing: How the Secret Service Said Goodbye to Mitt Romney
• Via the NY Times, The Island Where People Forgot to Die.  Hint: it’s a Greek island in the Aegean Sea.  Time to start saving up for my Golden Girls style-retirement!
• For the fruit efficient – here’s a flow chart to assist in choosing the right apple for the task.

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• I know it’s been several months since Nora Ephron passed away, but this remembrance written by Tom Hanks has stuck in my mind, particularly: “For a wrap gift, she would send you a note saying something like, ‘A man is going to come to your house to plant an orange tree –or apple or pomegranate or whatever — & you will eat its fruit for the rest of your days.”
• Life at 36 – Discussion of what looking your age means.
  
• You Should Talk About Going to Therapy – Getting rid of stigma involves the ability to talk about it casually.
• A great commentary by Sandra Fluke entitled, “We’re Not the ‘Entitlement Generation‘”  I love her point that this isn’t about not knowing how to take care of ourselves, but knowing that we should take care of one another.
• It’s My Birthday Too, Yeah – (via the NY Times) – Looking at our selves through the lens of math & how many people would you need to gather to make the odds of a match 50-50?
  

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Restocking (decaf) autumnal teas, the Hobbit movie trailers, lady rap, legwarmers, Mel Brooks (!) and Carl Reiner on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, kicking gluten to the curb, outfits patterned after superheroes, nutmeg, cardamom, frozen bananas, the color teal, the word ‘starry’, a good night’s sleep, paperback mystery novels you can read in an afternoon.

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• Doing introductions as a group while in a circle makes me panic about ‘messing up’ my own.  I will sit there silently reciting my own introduction over & over again in my head until it is finally my turn.
  
• People who share my name – I get nervous when I meet other people with my name.  & this is because for some reason, spelling always arises.  “My name is Allison/Allyson/Alison/Alyson too!  How do you spell yours?”  There is the pause of packed anxiety before the answer.  “Oh, you spell it with two L’s…” & they trail off.  & it is awkward because -one L or Y- Allison’s have led a different life than -two L, one I- Allison’s.
• Going through security detectors – It could be as complex as the security at the airport or as harmless as the ones at the video store exit.  I exhale deeply & step through as quickly as possible.  & it isn’t connected to guilt.  It is connected to fear of being innocent & the alarm going off anyway.

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Buried treasure, Eurosport commentary on the Tour de France, getting rid of clutter, Airstreams, Pyrex, a new camera, Budget Bytes’ Apple Dijon Kale Salad, re-watching Murder She Wrote, rounded corners, postcards, rubber stamps, researching travel, trains, clean fonts, summer rainstorms, Pinterest, putting way too many books on hold through the Toronto Public Library, cold brewed ice coffee, homemade bookmarks, pen pals, twine, & sitting in front of a fan.

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Lists.  Focus.  Succulents.  Cactus.  Making friends at work.  Great covers of great songs.  Purple.  Pineapple on pizza.  Making playlists for a rainbow of moods.  When someone you love makes you a delicious sandwich, just because they love you back.  Knots.  Not knots.  Seasonal fruit.  Reintroducing myself to hooping in the summer.  Podcasts.  Ira Glass.  Having a good neighbour.  Chuck Klosterman.  Seeing a bean grow up into a Lexi.  The moment when you come up from being underwater & take a breath again.  Saving money.  Crossword buddies.  Starting from now.  Being barefoot.  Seeing women-centric movies.

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