28. PhD Candidate in Creative Writing and Literature. Loves cyborgs and zombies, sewing, steampunk and cosplay. Horror movies. Wants to be R. L. Stine when she grows up.
This might seem random, but on some forums I frequent someone asked if people can be mombies without kids, and I would agree that people can definitely be mombies (think zombie single-mindedness) to their pets. And I tend to find that behavior annoying, regardless of where the behavior originates (from children or pets or maybe even a job).
B and I are a one cat household. I am pretty sure we are the only people we know who only have one cat. All of our friends (if they have pets at all) started with one cat, and then went to two for some reason. I don't think anyone has dogs yet. I don't know if this is because no one likes dogs or if they're the next evolutionary step in pet ownership after cats.
What's weird, though, is that when we visit B's family in Michigan (or when they come out here), the conversation somehow turns towards Zhoul. And how pretty she is. And how funny she is. And oh, isn't it sweet that she won't let anyone except me and B touch her? It means she really trusts us. And shouldn't her parents give her some more attention? And if Zhoul follows me around and meows at me, B's mom will say, "But Mommy (fill in blank here)." And on and on and on about the freakin' cat. By the way, I totally hate being referred to as my cat's "mommy" or as her "parents"--I realize a lot of people love this--but it bugs me. I don't know why exactly it bugs me, but I have it narrowed down to two reasons: 1) I feel like it's a fundamental misunderstanding of Zhoul and her personality. If we are anything to her, we are merely her squaws (does the word "squaw" have a plural form?) and 2) Calling us "parents" always feels like passive aggressive nagging about having children. Until her first grandchild was born last year, my mother-in-law used to say that she referred to her children's cats as her "grandkitties" because they're all she had (and then she'd give me a pointed look--at the time she'd make those comments, I was only 22, 23 and 24 years old (yes, she made the comment on more than one occasion)!
When I'm on the phone with my sister-in-law, it always goes back to the cats. It's as if we have nothing else to talk about because we made different life choices--but cats... cats we have in common!
Does anyone ask me about teaching? No. (And my mother-in-law was a teacher for 35 years, so we'd have something to talk about other than the cat--I have to steer the conversation to this instead.) Does anyone ask me about my literary research? No. Does anyone ask me about the novels I'm working on? No.
It always goes back to the cats.
And if you're wondering where I got "squaw" from, I got it from Peter Pan.
I really love YouTube. But after re-watching this clip, I find this song supremely offensive. I realize it's "just a kid's movie" and I might be reading too much into it, but ideas about Stuart Hall's inferential racism can't help but pop into my head.
I always thought it was weird when people say kitties or dog are their "children." Pet parents are silly. I don't think my sister is a "pet parent" but I never actually asked her about it.
Anyway, just for the record, if Stink Pants and I were allowed to have pets, we'd have a dog. We can't though because 1) I'm allergic to cats (although that allergy seems to be going to zero as the number of cat owners I know approaches infinity) and 2) if we have pets of any kind, our landlady will have a cow of epic proportions.
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Former Tiger: Jeff Weaver
Friday, May 11, 2007
Dear Jeff,
You are a great pitcher--and even with your current 14.32 ERA: you still have fans and You. Still. Are. A. Great. Pitcher. I have watched you since the year 2000 and remember thinking to myself, "Wow. That guy's hot," and by hot I mean totally hot--you're insanely tall at 6'5" (God knows I like 'em tall), but you are gorgeous, too (I particularly love your hair)--but your arm is hot. When you pitch, it's a thing of beauty. Your arm is, at once, rubber and rock--which is the stuff of great pitchers.
But when I watch you play, and you start to get upset because the beautiful arm of yours is going a little rubbery-out-of-control, your emotions fuel the pitching. Which tends to either: a) Completely focus you, making you a scary man to watch dominate or b) Completely unfocus you, making you a scary man to watch being dominated. When it's Option A, it's so much fun to watch and I'm rooting for you to sit those bitches down. When it's Option B, it makes me want to give you a hug and a cup of Celestial Seasonings Honey, Chamomile and Green Tea to calm you down.
You're a rock star, what with the arm and the hair and all. But that broody rock star thing can only last so long before it starts to overtake you.
I don't know if Nate Robertson (also total hottie, but in an accessible-sexy-bearded-hottie sort of way) is going to be able to get you this message, but I hope he does: Your fans still follow your career--no matter how many teams you transfer to, even if that means keeping tabs on the Evil Empire (read: Yankees). Please don't give up. We have not given up. And please give us the Jeff Weaver of Old.
I just wrote 10 pages on Sailor Moon and girl power and cyborgs--and how the excess of femininity in gender performative acts (as exhibited in the morphin sequences in which the Scouts are adorned traditional feminine accouterments) actually subverts the patriarchal power structure through their hyper-visibility. With something about cyborgs thrown in.
I feel so proud.
And tired.
And now for Bishojo Sailor Moon Senshi--the live action Sailor Moon--I have been saving up these episodes to watch until I was done with the semester for good.
Instead of writing my paper for Feminist Theory, I watched all the episodes of America's Next Top Model Cycle 2 on YouTube. I felt compelled to watch them all as soon as possible because YouTube really cracked down on copyright issues earlier in the year. Back in January, I had bookmarked cycles of ANTM to watch on the weekend, and when I finally revisited the links a week later, none of the bookmarks worked because the content had been pulled due to copyright infringement. It pissed me off because the only season of ANTM on DVD is Cycle One, and I had missed the marathon re-run of Cycle 2 in January, so there was no way to watch previous seasons. But Cycle 2 is up and running and it was a blast to watch.
Luckily I justify my day spent on YouTube by seriously contemplating my seminar paper for Feminist Theory on Sailor Moon. Somehow America's Next Top Model is my brain food. It sounds completely antithetical, but it's true. I see issues of gender and race come into play and it's interesting which helps me brainstorm analytical issues I want to nail in Sailor Moon, but it's also such a guilty pleasure and I can let my brain rest while watching if I want. But if you doubt the rigorousness of my topic selection, compounded by the fact that I use ANTM to help me brainstorm, allow me to say that I have discovered, in recent viewings of Sailor Moon S Heart Collection, that there is combination of cyborg femininity and compulsory heterosexulty at work.
I think the heteronormativity that the series tries to reinforce disrupts what should be a lesbian continuum (thank you Adrienne Rich) between the original Sailor Scouts (Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus), which then contributes to the "othering" of the newest additions to the Sailor Scouts: Sailor Uranus (Amara) and Sailor Neptune (Michelle), who happen to be partners/lovers. When Uranus and Neptune appear, there's an ambiguity as to which side Amara and Michelle are fighting (Love & Justice or the Negaverse). Also, we repeatedly see the original Scouts transform, using the accouterments that traditionally signify femininity (skirts, makeup, tiaras, heels), but we do not see the two newest members of the cast transform until we're sure that they are "good." I think the repetition of the morphin sequences of the Scouts illustrate Judith Butler's (and Simone De Beauvoir's) assertion that women are not born, they are made through the repetition of feminine acts.
Furthermore, I think the appearance of Rini (Sailor Chibi-Moon/Mini-Moon: Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask's daughter who travels back in time from 1,000 years in the future) reinforces the cyborg undertones of the show that reproduction is actually most important, and that reproduction is firmly part of the feminine sphere, even in the 30th century (which is kind of depressing).
I saw an episode featuring Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune once when the series was airing on Cartoon Network. I thought the portrayal of the two of them as "cousins" was pretty funny. Sorry, but I don't think random extended family members hug each other quite like that or get that upset when the other person is is trouble. But I knew about that particular edit before I ever saw the episode (mustn't let the children of America hear about lesbians), so maybe that colored my perception of it.
And Sailor Chibi-Moon may be terrifying as the embodiment of the compulsion to procreate, but to me, she's just terrifying as a big-eyed, big-headed child. Not a fan of the chibis...
said...
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