October 29, 2001, 1:23 p.m.
watching: Donnie Darko,
Monsters, Inc .
Today is the first day in some weeks that I have the apartment to myself, although the notorious houseguest will be back tonight,
bearing sleeping bag and aerosol deodorant. (The hiss of the
spray can makes me shudder.) So instead of doing work, I've been
catching up on my on-line journal reading, and finished Lord of the
Rings (for the fifteenth time) at my leisure. I also deserve a
break, I think, after being traumatized by the sight of a young woman
giving her boyfriend a blowjob in the crowded, well-lit library cafe on
campus. The worst part is that they were wearing CAL sweatshirts, and
were thus rendered totally un-sexy. Plus, yuckola for heteronormativity.
Could a queer couple have pulled down pants in public and gotten away
with it? Doubtful.
Last night my brother took Mark and me to a preview showing of
Monsters, Inc., at PIXAR studios. Very, very cute. I was
worried that the character of the little girl would grate on my nerves,
but "Boo" is adorable, especially when she
sings unintelligible songs while she pees. Um, you just have to see
it.
Last year was my year for race and digital space -- this year it seems to be
"third wave" feminism and popular culture. (I'll be appearing on a panel
with Rebecca Walker this February for the This Bridge Called My Back
20-year anniversary
conference.) I've never consciously identified as "third wave," though I
imagine riot grrrl counts. But while I considered myself involved in
r.g. I don't think I ever called myself one. But of course, more
on this later.
11:32 a.m.
"Third Wave Feminism and Popular Culture: Transforming Activism
through Media Production"
A Panel Discussion at MIT Thursday, November 15, 2001 from 6 p.m. to
8 p.m. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave,
Cambridge, MA in Building 10, Room 250
"Third Wave Feminism and Popular Culture" will explore the relationship
between self-produced media and U.S. third wave feminism by addressing
some critical contemporary debates surrounding feminist activism and
popular culture. These debates include the role of media production in
feminist activism, whether there is a "split" between third wave and
second wave feminist approaches to and interpretations of popular
culture, and how/if/when engagement with and consumption of media
constitutes political activism. Additionally, each panelist will present
a segment of her work. The event is free.
Panelists: Tammy Rae Carland (photographer, video artist, and founder
of Mr. Lady Records and Videos) Suheir Hammad (spoken word artist and
columnist for Stress Magazine) Mimi Nguyen (zine-maker and columnist for
Punk Planet) Moderator: S.A. Bachman (professor at the Museum of Fine
Arts School and the co-founder of the AgitArt group THINK AGAIN)
For more information, please contact the MIT Program in Women's
Studies at 617.253.884 or visit http://web.mit.edu/womens-studies/www.
9:56 a.m.
Has anyone seen this reported in U.S. media? That the Justice
Department now believes that the anthrax attacks are the work of far
right groups in the United States
?