Shrub

I’m in Nicaragua right now and taking advantage of my American right to travel. I can move fairly freely in a country impoverished by my nation’s doing–and by extent my own. I certainly benefit from globalization and the United State’s imperialism, do too little enough to actively resist it. I arrived last night, and slept [...]

Folks talk about campus violence like it’s perpetuated by a few bad apples, tgise disenfranchised men and boys who play too many violent video games. What the mainstream doesn’t talk about is campus violence like violence against women or police brutality by campus police. Why? Because these forms of violence are institutionalized, and unfairly…[Read more]

Cerise, the new magazine by and for gaming women, is still accepting submissions for our first issue. The deadline is April 15, 2007. What we’re looking for : Reviews of games, systems and gaming supplements In-depth critiques, essays and opinion pieces about gaming Interviews with industry professionals Modules and mini-adventures for…[Read more]

I’m in favor of men speaking out about how patriarchy hurts them; how they’re expected to act as men, how they’re denied validity in their emotions beyond anger—and denied their full humanity as oppressors. But it isn’t the job of women to facilitate that discussion. Last night was the opening night of The Vagina Memoirs , an [...]

On New Year’s Eve, tekanji and I watched Nanny McPhee , a British fantasy movie for children. In the film, the magical Nanny McPhee comes to the Brown Estate to help Cedric Brown, widower and mortician, manage his seven unruly children, free of charge. Since the death of their mother, the Brown children have driven away seventeen nannies. Nanny [...]

Red Square, a hub on my university’s campus, never seems to be a safe space . Today, one of the La Rouche folks (I refuse to call them La Rouchebags) asked me if I liked Lynne Cheney’s dick. I felt ill. I don’t go to school to be bullied by phallic and obsence questions. What am I supposed [...]

Sometimes I wish I had a male body. I wish I didn’t have to work twice as hard to be half as good at the sports I enjoy. I wish I could eat three bowls of cereal before I go to bed and not get fat. The cultural ideals I wish I fit into are those [...]

This is a bit of a personal post, musing about my future because I’d appreciate some advice from you wizened lot. Originally I wanted to wrap up my undergrad studies in early this school year (I attend a university with quarters rather than semesters), but I’ve decided to graduate in Spring 2007. Then I’ll finally [...]

Two new carnivals are up for you all: the 3rd edition of the Carnival of Empty Cages at Two Peas, No Pod and the 3rd edition of the Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans at New Game Plus. Enjoy!

I’ve posted the official call for submissions for the 3rd Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans , which I’ll be hosting at New Game Plus . Have a post on feminism, video games, fandom, genre fiction, movies, television, comics, novels, fanfiction, or something of those sorts? Submit! Don’t make me crack the [...]

I was very excited to see Pirates of the Caribbean II: The Dead Man’s Chest Friday night; I loved the first film and used to work at the Magic Kingdom theme park where I frequented the Florida’s abbreviated version of the ride. Beyond watching the trailers, I’d remained spoiler free and didn’t know what to expect [...]

Yesterday, my friend and I were sitting on my apartment’s balcony eating dinner when something happened. My building overlooks another apartment building that is across the street. One of the neighbors in this building was sitting with his chair beside his open porch window, turned sideways. My friend remarked, “That guy keeps staring at us.” [...]

The sex issue of the Big Fat Carnival is up on vegankid’s blog. The next issue will be August 6, 2006, on Body Impolitic.

Welcome to the second issue of the Carnival of Empty Cages, the collection of blog posts celebrating compassion, veganism, and animals. This issue’s theme is passion. What gets you going? Read on to find out. Looking at Oppression George Dvorsky, Canadian transhumanist philosopher, writes on The myth of our exalted human place on his blog, [Read more]

I just got home from helping put on Veganfest, my school’s animal rights club’s annual dinner, and feeding 200 hungry people yummy vegan food. Just in time to remind you all to get those submissions for the Carnival of Empty Cages . I’m extending the deadline to midnight on May 30 . Submissions are coming in slowly, so feel [...]

The first issue of the Erase Racism Carnival is up at Ally Work . Topics are The Realities of Whiteness, The Problem of Colorblindness, The Prospect of Seeing Our Common Humanity, and The Cultural Representation of Whiteness. Check it out–Ally Work is an awesome, accessable blog and a great place to start thinking about deconstructing race if it’s [...]

The Center for Biological Reform was invited to my school on Tuesday and Wednesday by Western for Life , my university’s anti-choice club. They put up a display comparing abortion to genocide in the center-most public area of campus. There were signs that read, “Warning, Genocide Ahead,” but the area is difficult to avoid and many students told [...]

Happy International Respect for Chickens Day ! Even if you’re not a vegetarian, please think of these cool birds today when making your meal choices. This is a snapshot I took a few weeks ago of Garnet (front) and Henrietta, two of the hens that live with my parents. (They usually stand outside, but Garnet likes to tap [...]

I am hosting the second issue of the Carnival of Empty Cages here on June 1, 2006. You can submit posts via the web form or E-mailing at lakedesire@gmail.com by May 30, 2006. To quote my original pre-call:

The issue’s theme will be passion. What animal liberation or veganism/vegetarianism gets you going? Spending time with your companion animals? [...]

As I find myself being more and more vague when talking about dating, I realize that nobody knows what my sexual orientation is. Maybe I’m becoming more aware from getting closer to my queer friends, or finally feeling comfortable enough to talk about sex when I talk to other women (of all persuasions). Well, it’s [...]