http://www.reclusiveleftist.com feminism, politics, and random pedantry with your host, Dr. Violet Socks Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:03:28 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Only two more days left to make Medicare for All one of Change.org's top ten priorities. Change.org says: Final round voting begins on March 1 and ends on March 12. The 10 most popular ideas will be presented to relevant members of the Obama Administration, and Change.org will subsequently mobilize its full ... http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2010/03/10/vote-for-single-payer/ [caption id="attachment_7743" align="alignright" width="222" caption="Female Figurine, Fired ClayCucuteni, Drăguşeni, 4050–3900 BC Botoşani County Museum, Botoşani: 7558Photo: Marius Amarie"][/caption] In honor of Women's History Month, I'm pleased to present this guest post by my friend Artemis March. -- V.S. When I heard about the extraordinary exhibit of 250 artifacts from prepatriarchal “Old Europe” ... http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2010/03/09/hiding-the-truth-in-plain-sight-exhibition-of-prepatriarchal-old-european-artifacts/ In honor of International Women's Day, I thought it would be fun to consider what Obama hath wrought. Seeing as how he's a Superfeminist and all. (The title of this post, for the non-cognoscenti, is an allusion to a sad and frightening piece of performance art by Naomi ... http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2010/03/08/christmas-and-new-years-and-hanukkah/ Hey, all you third-party rebel types -- check this out in the Times: Democrats Need a Rally Monkey By KATE ZERNIKE “Wake Up and Stand Up.” So urges the bold motto of a seedling movement calling itself the Coffee Party, a leftish alternative to the Tea Party movement. The Coffee Party! Jeesh, why ... http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2010/03/07/oh-hey-a-java-party/ Hello, people! I apologize for my inattention to the Smoking Lounge; we (by which I mean the secret feminist cabal that rules the world) are getting ready to launch our new thingy. Hopefully tomorrow. Yeah, I know it was gonna be a few weeks ago, but talk ... http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2010/03/04/the-best-spam-comment-ever/ The immortal Bob Costas makes the call. The closing ceremonies in Vancouver were even more hilariously weird than the opening ceremonies. I'm officially in love with Canada. Can you imagine the Soviets Russians doing something like that? Don't get me wrong; I revere Russian culture. But the Sochi preview ... http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2010/02/28/and-now-the-always-enjoyable-giant-inflatable-beaver/ [caption id="attachment_7711" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Virtue and Moir take the gold medal in ice dancing."][/caption] I'm here, I'm at my computer, but I'm extremely busy. So no post; just this lousy open thread. The figure skating has been absolutely glorious this year. Kim Yu-Na is God. Virtue and ... http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2010/02/26/olympics-final-weekend-open-thread/ [caption id="attachment_7700" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="Who could possibly have a problem with this?"][/caption] Only a few more hours until the ice dancing! Tonight, in the original dance competition, reigning world champions Domnina and Shabalin will perform their Sensitive and Respectful Tribute to Brown People. The figure skating has been truly ... http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2010/02/21/i-cant-wait/ [caption id="attachment_7694" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Deluded British curlers attempt to influence an inanimate object with their minds."][/caption] Here's my problem with curling (okay, one of my problems with curling): I don't believe it. I don't think it's true. The people with the Swiffer mops, furiously scrubbing in front of ... http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2010/02/19/day-4-of-the-mop-n-glo-preliminary-rounds/ They're fast. Everything at the Winter Olympics is fast -- except the curling, which proceeds at a normal, floor-waxing, houseworky kinda pace. But other than the curling, everything is fast. People ski, skate, and slide at superhuman speeds. The Summer Olympics, on the other hand, is ... http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2010/02/18/why-i-love-the-winter-olympics/