Just Wow

The contingencies - and one's ability to pivot from them - have a greater impact upon one's destiny than one's plan.

Word.
Via Feministe

A Gawk at the Emily Gould Story

Forgive the bad pun in the post-title. I have had too much coffee.
So, I'm helping a colleague with a class tonight and she emailed me this morning suggesting this article as a discussion piece. Up until now I had never heard of Emily Gould probably because I stopped reading Gawker a long time ago (no particular reason, just that I get out of the habit of reading sites/blogs sometimes). Gould was an editor at Gawker (which is a celebrity NY gossipy blog) for some time apparently and the NYTM article details her personal experiences in the industry (for it is an industry and then some) and her personal life at the time. The article is called 'Exposed: what I gained - and lost - by writing about my intimate life online.' Rachel Sklar at The Huffington Post responds with accusations of narcissism. This exchange is really interesting to me. Sklar's piece quotes multiple sources admonishing Gould (and in part bloggers in general) for navel-gazing, for taking up space in a publication where more 'important' ("brilliant" and "closely-researched") news should be. News that is not about the personal, that has cultural relevance. News that is produced by someone who does not include pictures of herself in a "metallic bathing suit". If you are interested at all in blogging then I urge you to read the original article, Sklar's response, some of the Gawker comments, and also go over and watch the video of Gould's appearance on Larry King where she is questioned by Jimmy Kimmel (irate following accusations on Gawker regarding his behaviour) among others.
It really bothers me that a story like this can be described as being of no political significance. As far as I'm concerned that betrays not only a lack of imagination but a rigid adherence to patriarchal principles of what is important news and what is trivial. What is personal, what has to do with relationships, what is feminine is all too often dismissed as being irrlevant, soft, fluffy, silly .... That an individual story offering (as I see it) fascinating insight into the experience of sharing (and making) oneself online is irrelevant is laughable to me. Web 2.0 technologies are changing (have already changed) the way that news is made and distributed. The exposure of personal writing is HUGE part of this. The vast vast vast majority of blogs online are personal diaries and an enormous number of bloggers (not all of course by a long shot) aspire to the kind of exposure Gould has had for her personal writing. Look at all the bloody books available to show you how to profit from your blog, how to gain exposure, how to market yourself through your blog. In this arena Gould's story is not only relevant, it is important.
Also, Gould is criticised and mocked for discussing the drawbacks of personal/intimate writing in a personal/intimate piece. I am willing to bet (and I am not a betting woman) that if a disaster relief worker, or a pearl diver, or an explorer wrote about the dangers of their work they would not be so lambasted for continuing to do the work. However, when the dangers of the work are emotional rather than physical it is somehow easier to devalue the risks, to write them off as selfish choices rather than brave ventures. Somehow, I also suspect that when the worker is a woman it might also be easier to do this (as our work is often framed in terms of (selfish) choice rather than contribution or vocation). Certainly, there is evidence to suggest that women bloggers face more abusive commentary and personal threats than their male counterparts. I'm not saying that there aren't bloggers out there who write selfishly and thoughtlessly, but I feel that to completely ignore the bravery of the kind of vulnerability involved in personal writing (especially in an environment where it is often so reviled) is to reinscribe that prejudice and hierarchy over and over again. Sklar sniffs at Gould's use of the "well worn lens of her own experience" towards the end of her post which leads me to the questions I'll finish with here - don't we all wear this lens in one form or another? Even if we don't foreground it as much as a writer like Gould does. Do we still really believe the myth of objectivity?

...um, well hello there...

...so, I'm back. It's been a while.
To explain. This blog is broken. There is something up with my access privileges and I can't edit my template which means that I can't update my blogroll or change the look of my blog at all. This is a weird position to be in. The thing is is that I think it's my own fault. I was twiddling in the back end (fnar) one day and changed something and that was when I lost the privs. Dumbass. My initial plan (once this became apparant) was that I would build a new blog using Wordpress which is what all the cool kids use and probably something that should be featured on Stuff White People Like. I just haven't had time. And to be honest, I am really lazy about stuff like this. I see this task as being on the same level as filing taxes - administration. And I hate administration - especially forms. Anyhoo, so here I am again.
I am watching American Idol again. It is almost unwatchable but not quite. America's Next Top Model is the same. Hanging on on my rotation but only just so (I know, I'm a telly addict -though I prefer 'pop culture maven'). Well I like Jason Castro. Looks like Paula is bombed all the time. They don't even care what she says anymore. They're like 'um, okay...' while Paula's head lolls around on her neck like a tether ball). Simon just mocks her which is not nice really when you think about it, regardless of how funny not-nice can be.
LJ and I went to Belize last month. It was rockin'. There hasn't been a day since we got back that I haven't wished I was still on Caye Caulker.

The Music Biz

Watched the Grammy's on Sunday night. I was pretty ambivalent about Amy Winehouse before but I love her now. "My Blake...incarcerated"! I have been replaying it a lot. I reckon Amy Winehouse is probably pretty cool. It's such a crock of shit that Natalie Cole is talking up about Amy being undeserving of her awards because she's a junkie. Nobody every said that about Kurt Cobain. Somehow it's just so much worse for a woman to be out of control/ to have a drug habit (not that drug abuse is a good thing).
Also in music - Dolly, what is going on here?! I am very very nervous about this. Of course my first concern is for Dolly and her bad back but I have scheduled my Irish trip around her show and I am planning to go with my mum. I sent her The Essential Dolly Parton so she can learn all the words and so we can listen to it in the car on the way to the show. This is dream come true material and I will be so so so so gutted if the show is cancelled. Prayers people. Prayers for Dolly (and by association my happiness).
Finally...if LJ and I ever have a daughter then we will strongly encourage her to go to this camp. I can't wait to see the movie!

Yes she is

I'm coming off the end of a week of having some kind of awful cold/flu thing with a migraine in it's tail so I've been offline a whole lot and not writing anything except for emails and one piddling abstract. I feel so horribly behind in everything. Tomorrow, I hope the headache will really be gone and I can be super productive.
Like many people in this part of the world I'm sure, I've been thinking a lot about U.S. politics these days. It's amazing how North Americentric I've become since I moved here. I am hopelessly out of touch with Irish politics and, although I kept up with the Taipei Times for a while after I left, I know nothing of what is going on in that other place I called home for four years. Pathetic.
However, I'm sure that wherever I might be living in the world I would be interested in the elections for the Democrat party nomination. And whether Clinton or Obama win, I will support them wholeheartedly in their bid for the presidency. I really do hope that the next four years will be a better time for my neighbours to the immediate south. At the time of the last election I was doing my MA in England and I remember the tears of outrage and despair my American classmates and friends shed as they learned that xiao Bush would, indeed, be granted a second term in office. This year I really hope and really believe that they will have something to celebrate.
Anyhow, the point of this post was to say that, although I think that Clinton and Obama both have strengths and weaknesses as candidates, I freely admit that there is a big part of me that would just love to see a woman elected president of the U.S. Of course not just any woman (I grew up in the time of Margaret Thatcher, I know better than that) but an intelligent, and compassionate woman who genuinely wants the best for the people of her country (and not just some people). And while I do have a few reservations (there is the questionable stance on Iraq, and there are the corporate ties) I believe that Hillary will make positive changes, most importantly in healthcare and education, and I believe that America will benefit hugely from her leadership. And you know what? I will get a bloody huge kick out of seeing a woman president. I think it will provide a wonderful example and inspiration to women everywhere but especially to young women and girls in America today. When I think about it, I get that heart-swelling feeling that I get sometimes at the end of The Amazing Race (of course this is more 'important' than a reality show, but I'm just trying to illustrate my point) when the winning team is running to the mat (when I like the team that is). A woman president of the United States. A woman president I could (would) vote for. Now that's something :)


I saw this video at Feministe today and had to poach it. And I have the love on for Alicia Keys too. But not as much as for Stormy of course!

Hot Wax

From Wax Banks (an old post found while trawling the web looking for conferences I might be able to participate in):

I think I have it in me to do really good scholarly work; I don't know that I could do the dance necessary to be big in what was and in some vague sense ever will be 'my field.' Which realization only increases my admiration for people who (to my mind) stay creative and committed and sane in academia without uncritically buying into the enabling fantasies of the field-at-the-moment.

Me too.

Mom's world

Am very sad about Heath Ledger. He was one of my favourite actors and is in two of my favourite films of all time: Two Hands and Brokeback Mountain.
In happier news, I just found this fantastic Flickr photoset via a lovely blog Soule Mama. Go check it out now! 'Mom's World' is a collection of photos from the 1940's and 50's, there are some beautiful domestic shots and many of the pictures have comments by the photographer.