Sam Hurt’s Eyebeam comic was one of my favorite things about UT – Austin. It started in the college paper, The Daily Texan. I think it went on to syndication, but I’m not sure. When I left UT, people mailed me the strip. My favorite character in the comic was Peaches (Queen of the Universe), the main character’s niece. Peaches eventually got her own comic, but that didn’t last for long. Peaches was .. well .. precocious. I just found an Eyebeam strip with Peaches that was on my office door for a while. It’s old (1988), torn, and flimsy. Peaches is standing on aRead More →

An email I sent to reporter Lynn Sweet in response to a post she made on Politics Daily on why Obama should appoint a woman to the Supreme Court: I’m writing to you about a phrasing that you wrote in the lead to your SCOTUS post. The lead to your article reads: “So a new Gallop poll shows “no clamor” for President Obama to select a woman or minority to the Supreme Court vacancy being created by the departure of Justice David Souter.” Your lead calls to mind an old book entitled _But Some Of Us Are Brave: All the Women Are White, All theRead More →

From CNN “She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone,” said this McCain adviser. “She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else.” “Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom.” If this were a Hillary quote, I’d be livid. I would take it as a sexist slam against her solid leadership skills. But when I heard it about Sarah Palin, all I did was snicker, andRead More →

Danica is at it again. In the most recent controversy, she went off on another female driver, Milka Duno, for blocking her on the track. Now, it’s a cat fight. I’ve posted about Danica and sexism before. She’s fascinating because she’s a female figure in a male-dominated sphere. What’s most interesting to me about this story is the 344 comments. Most of them are amazingly sexist. Some of them go as far as to compare Milka Duno (who is sexier because she fits male standards of beauty better) to Danica (who is too tomboyish, i.e., flat-chested, etc.). The first comment captures the sentiments of mostRead More →

Apparently other drivers think Danica is too aggressive, a sentiment that AP has turned into an article. Since I don’t follow racing, the backstory and why it counts as newsworthy is unclear. But Danica defends herself nicely: “All I can say is with the words you used—aggressive and giving up spots—those are things that drivers never do.” “I think that in an ideal world, I would win over everyone’s heart and be a sweetheart and be tough on the track and have good finishes.” Go for the good finish, Danica!

Here is what The Fish wrote back: we play evanescence, flyleaf, veruca salt, the cranberries, mazzy star, sneaker pimps…that’s the ones I can recall off the top of my head. Fiona Apple, Poe, Liz Phaire, Courtney Love (we play sometimes) are possibilities!check out THE CARDIGANS and the GATHERING! Of course I’ve heard of the Cardigans, but I haven’t heard of the gathering. Looking them up, I see they are a Dutch Metal band. Which of course raises the question of Kitty. We’ll see if my email made a difference. I’m gonna start checking out their playlist and seeing how often they play women.

I emailed The Fish at 104 the X today. Here is what I said: Why don’t you ever play any chick groups or groups with chick lead singers. The only one you play is Evanescence (over and over). Why don’t you play someone like Courtney Love, or Avril Lavigne, or Pink, or Cheryl Crow, Fiona Apple, Poe, Liz Phair, Joss Stone, L7. Seriously. I could go on and on. Where are the chick’s voices? If you want to mail The Fish too, his email is: thefish@104thex.com. I think on Monday I might call the programming director and lodge a formal complaint. Woo.

Everyone is up in arms blogging about the spat between Hillary and Obama, instigated by David Geffen’s criticism of Hillary, which goes like this: “I don’t think that another incredibly polarizing figure, no matter how smart she is, and no matter how ambitious she is — and God knows, is there anybody more ambitious than Hillary Clinton? — can bring the country together.” Geffen is supporting and fundraising for Obama. What angers me about this quote is the same old tired gender-based rhetoric about Hillary as a pushy broad. Obama, who has been a senator for a whopping TWO YEARS, and who has very limitedRead More →

I told Congresswoman Pelosi that I look forward to working with her and her colleagues to find common ground in the next two years. As the majority party in the House of Representatives, they recognize that in their new role they now have greater responsibilities. And in my first act of bipartisan outreach since the election, I shared with her the names of some Republican interior decorators who can help her pick out the new drapes in her new offices.

– George W. Bush