Book Binge

In the festive nature of Halloween's month I went on a reading binge of books filled with vampires, faerie, werewolves, witches, skinwalkers, satyrs, sidhe, selkies, kelpies, brownies, gnomes, trolls, and other supernatural beings packaged with murder, mayhem, and in some cases romance.  Oh yeah, and I had to read "How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you" because Oatmeal is awesome.  I recommend his book, the first Jane Yellowrock book, and the first two October Daye books (by Seanan McGuire) for some good fall reads.

Criminal Minds Binder

Of all the photos posted in the "Binder Full of Women" meme my favorite is this:

AJ Cook's facial expression seals the deal. :)

Honey Love

I have a new affinity for Winnie the Pooh - I get it now.  I understand why he loves honey so much.

When I was younger we never really had honey in the house and I didn't get a taste for it.  To me, though I knew it was honey, I associated Pooh's love of honey to my love of cheese (seriously, even though it's in a honey comb, doesn't that look like melted cheddar cheese?).

Today I finally get it. :)  I was at the farmers market and decided it was high time I give honey another try (I try foods that I don't like, but haven't had much exposure to, again to see if I've changed my mind - still don't like eggnog).  There were a handful of vendors selling honey, but I settled on this one:

Marsden's Pure Honey from the Farmers Market.

Marsden's Pure Honey.  There were several different types so I took the safe route with a Clover honey.  I won't be giving this away.  One spoon-tip full and I was hooked.  Next week I'm going back to taste the other varieties so I can load up my pantry to tide me though the coming winter. :)

Sleepy tea in the Tardis mug with a bit of honey heaven.

The Doctor's Wife

I often go on a hunt for Doctor Who inspired art on Etsy and this past week from Gimmeswords I got a treasure:

Inspired by Season 6, Episode 4 called "The Doctor's Wife", this print of an original artwork by Dottie Torres makes me happy and sad all at once.  This scene, with the Doctor and his Tardis face to face for the last few moments, is swirl of emotions - tragically sad because it has to end yet wonderfully happy because it actually happened - and I love how it is captured here.  The Doctor and his box, the one who has seen it all and who is always with him.

 "I'll always be here.  But this is when we talked."

Rep. Todd Akin meet Sherry Matulis.

I'm a little late to the conversation, but I'll add my two cents anyway.

“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

~Rep. Todd Akin 

KTVI-TV Interview, August 2012.

Flipping through Women Without Superstition this quote by Sherry Matulis recounting her rape and consequent pregnancy in 1954 caught my eye:

"Contrary to what the purveyors of mystical notions seem to think happens in cases such as this, I discovered that my ovaries hadn't magically shut down; and I had been impregnated by the rape.  The feeling that came over me at that time is one I've never really been able to describe.  It was part fear, panic, revulsion and ,mostly, an overwhelming sense of helplessness --- of not knowing where to turn for help because at that time there wasn't any help."

~Sherry Matulis 

in her speech How I Earned My Feminist Credentials delivered at the fiftieth annual convention of the American Humanist Association in Chicago, May 1991.

Akin has apologized, "I used the wrong words in the wrong way and for that I apologize."  Then later says in his reasoning for not dropping out of the race, "Is there a matter of some justice here? I misspoke one word in one sentence on one day." (Quotes from here).

The fact that he thinks the only erroneous mistake was the word "legitimate" (which is as bad as "forcible") rape tells me it wasn't a slip up - that what he said to him is truth.  This is why decisions about our bodies shouldn't be made by old men. We've made progress, thanks in no small part to Sherry Matulis and all the women fighting for our reproductive rights - the right to control our own bodies and live healthy and productive lives.  

We've made progress, but more need to join the fight.  Count me in.

My New Hero: Caitlin Moran

I finished Caitlin Moran's book How To Be a Woman and she is officially my new hero. :)

Quote on the back cover, "Caitlin Moran taught me more about being a woman than being a woman did.  I'm pretty sure I had testicles before I read this book." - Jenny Lawson, author of Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)

I'd already purchased the book when I saw this, but it made me want to read it even more.

"I am a feminist!"

Of the multitudinous good points made by Caitlin Moran throughout her book I really like her views of feminism.  In addition to the quote in the NPR story where I first heard about this book, the following quote makes me laugh:

"So here is a quick way of working out if you're a feminist.  Put your hand in your underpants.  a) Do you have a vagina? and b) Do you want to be in charge of it?  If you said "yes" to both, then congratulations! You're a feminist."

In a world where reproductive rights are threatened, pay inequality persists, glass ceilings exist, and sexism overtly and covertly pervades the day to day we need more people to stand up and shout, "I AM A FEMINIST!"

"I don't want men to go away.  I don't want men to stop what they're doing.  What I want, instead, are some radical market forces.  I want CHOICE. I want VARIETY. I want MORE. I want WOMEN.  I want women to have more of the world, not just because it would be fairer, but because it would be better.  More exciting.  Reordered.  Reinvented.  We should have the lady-balls to say, "Yeah -- I like the look of this world.  And I've been here for a good while, watching.  Now -- here's how I'd tweak it. Because we're all in this together.  We're all just, you know.  The Guys.""

I've been a feminist for awhile, but a quiet almost embarrassed type of feminist, because who talks about feminism these days.  Her book was exactly what I needed: loud, brash, humorous, and honest.  I will forever appreciate her personal account of her abortion and her views on the subject.

So, to anyone reading, "I AM A FEMINIST". :)

Zucchini Adventures

Before this month the only time I'd eaten zucchini was when it was buried in cupcakes.  Several of my coworkers have gardens and leave extra produce in the kitchen for us to take.

I went to the farmers market to get more fresh veggies and I made this:


Tomato-Zucchini Bake

The corn was cut fresh off the cob and I had two different types of zucchini.  It was so easy - I even changed the recipe a bit.  I didn't have the Japanese bread crumbs so I used regular bread seasoned with Italian seasonings.

I hope to make much more with the fresh produce I get from the market this wednesday. :)