Lingual Tremors

Eliot's Headless Whores: The American Male Politician and Remedial Feminism

Sigh.  Call him the idiot of the week:  Eliot Spitzer.

Of course we've all spent a lot of time this week thinking about Eliot Spitzer's amazing acts of hubris;  perhaps the temporary definition of "hypocrisy" in Wikipedia might include a picture of Governor Spitzer as the word embodied?

In a few short days, he and his wife went from this:
(photo via 02138 )

to this:
(photo via nj.com)

There's a lot of fodder for discussion in the Spitzer case:  the amazing rise and fall of a visionary leader; debates over the illegality of prostitution, here, here, here, here & here;  the mirth (and sadly bad frat boy ways) of the Wall Street boys (yes, I did knowingly link to the NY Post...); the ways in which the public reacted bizarrely to the news by attacking Spitzer's wife (More disgusting Dr. Laura coverage here;  see also Body Impolitic's response, and mine!); all of this and more will continue to be debated in the blogosphere over the coming weeks. 

For me, however, what stands out is the interminable stupidity and unconscious misogyny of the American male politician.  In education--and in our legislation of things like No Child Left Behind & standardized testing--our political, social, and cultural mores have determined that there are essential skills necessary for participation in society.  A well educated citizen is articulate in basic, shared knowledge like math, literature, writing, science, civics, and history (to name a few).  I'd like to suggest that the repeated incidents of public infidelity on the part of the American male politician argue for something even more basic:  mandatory courses in remedial feminism.  To truly move to a society where men and women are considered equal, gender equality needs to be a central tenant of social, political, cultural, and academic discourse. 

In an election cycle that explicitly condones sexism against a female candidate for president, in the midst of a legislative war over reproductive rights,  in the continuing ideological fight for access to birth control & abortion, in the hypocrisy of a culture that mandates motherhood but refuses to fund and legislate access to quality daycare and schools, just to name a few issues, is it any surprise that one of the leading liberal politicians is busted for participation in a prostitution ring?

That Mr. Spitzer went to a prostitute isn't shocking.  In some ways, the only thing newsworthy here is his own vulgar hypocrisy.  But, what really bothers me is this:  if Mr. Spitzer could buy--literally--into the notion that some women are commodities to be bought for his pleasure, how is it that he could represent and advocate for public policies that ensure the equality of men and women under the law?  In New York, Spitzer was a known proponent of progressive legislation for women's rights.  Amy Goodman has a great article about it here (and about how, as the news of Spitzer's infidelity was breaking, New York's women & teens were rallying for new legislation that Spitzer supported).   

What I'm trying to get at is this:  the very public picture of Mr. Spitzer and his wife, above, sends one message about equality in our society:  men and women working together to effect social and political change (of course, he as the legislator, she as the trusty "support" network).  Mr. Spitzer's political career was defined, in one arena, by a fierce passion for women's rights.  And below, a darker, more chilling picture of Mr. Spitzer's conscious? unconscious? opinion of women.  Call them Eliot's Headless Whores.

Here is what the Emperor's Club promised its clients (via Huffington Post--the EC Website has been taken off-line):

Emperors' Club vip is the most preferred international social introduction service for those accustomed to excellence. Introducing the most impressive models to leading gentleman of the world is our expertise. We specialize in introductions of: fashion models, pageant winners and exquisite students, graduates and women of successful careers (finance, art, media etc...) to gentlemen of exceptional standards. When seeking an evening date, a weekend travel companion, or a friend to accompany you during your next business / social function our models are perfect preference.

We act for a select group of educated, refined and successful international clients who give their best in all they do and who, in return, only wish to receive the best. Catering to clients who will not compromise in any area of their life...

Our meticulous standards of beauty, intelligence and charm ensure that you always encounter the quality you've come to expect in a woman, when with an Emperors' Club vip model. Each of our companions is a product of an exceptionally fine background and a success in her right. All rendezvous are individually crafted to suit the needs of your specific occasion. Note that each model has place in her schedule for a select number of appointments per month, so your date will be a special one for both of you.

Our goal is to make life more peaceful, balanced, beautiful and meaningful. We honor commitment to our clients as we covet long-term relationships of trust and mutual benefit. Experience for yourself a service of obvious distinction...

We are a visual culture--one which understands, interprets, and argues, based on images.  Images say everything.  So, how disturbing is it that each of these "companions," who boast "intelligence," "charm," and "success" is pictured headless?  Now, before you jump to the immediate argument--of course their faces are not depicted for legal reasons.  And yet:  they are headless.  They are not, say, shot from behind without faces shown.  They are not (with one exception) shot with their hair covering their faces.  They are, in fact, headless. 

They are rated, by diamonds.  They are body parts to be used for pleasure--breasts, legs, and torsos (oh yeah--and the implied vagina).  They are not "perfect preference," but headless whores.  Were Mr. Spitzer actually interested in "success" and "intelligence" and "charm" (not to mention support and the propagation of his legacy), why would he need to look further than his wife & partner?

So, in that headlessness is revealed a vast misogyny that views women as nothing more than the fuckable object--a 'ho with holes.  Here we have women to be used and discarded--not really that different than buying a box of tissues:  buy them, use them for your bodily fluids, and throw them away when you're done.

Here we have women as the ultimate act of capitalism:  an object to be bought & sold. 

Images via Wonkette:

 

Here's the thing:  if Mr. Spitzer were actually committed equality and a fierce advocate for equal rights, then he should have been repulsed by these images, a clearly disgusting portrayal of women as sex objects.  Let's face it:  we're a country fairly immune to rhetoric.  Despite the Emperor Club's discussions of "introductions" and "models" and "successful women," we all know the site is selling these women.  And Eliot Spitzer was buying--to the possible tune of $80,000.  For the moment, I'd like to belay the inevitable debate over what it means to work as a high-priced "companion" and whether or not the ability to set one's own price and working conditions is, in fact, an act of feminism, as some have argued.  That is a rich topic ripe for debate.  What I want to remain focused on here is Mr. Spitzer's remedial understanding of a woman as a headless, fuckable object.

So, the question is a philosophical one:  how can a politician truly understand and argue for gender equality when accepting the most primitive of social norms where women are concerned?  At least conservative religious leaders who would bar women from public office have their ideology aligned with their practice.  When you look at the incredible spate of male politicians engaging in illegal (or unwise) trysts, the hypocrisy points to the basic fact:  do they really believe that men and women are equal?  If not, how can they govern and legislate in a way that represents us all?  As a culture, I don't think we're truly ready to wrestle with the embedded sexism that lies deep within our cultural psyche--we can't even address & universally critique blatant acts of sexism.

Here's my final point:  none of this is news to feminists.  This is the basic stuff of feminism for years and years and years.  From conferences to websites to courses in college to  blog posts (see this great one on the male gaze at Feminism 101) to books like  Judith Butler's Gender Trouble, Susan Bordo's Unbearable Weight, Joan Jacobs Bromberg's The Body Project, and Janet Price's Feminist Theory and the Body, this is all the stuff of basic feminism.  And yet, despite all of this canonical & contemporary work, the basic message is still adrift in our culture.  Mr. Spitzer, champion of women's rights, father to three daughters 13, 15, & 17, husband to a Harvard lawyer and "partner" in his career, is revealed as a hypocrite in his own ideology.  Women as equals?  Good for the political sphere & rhetorical flourish.  Not so good for the bedroom.

**********

P.S.  On women politicians, sexual trysts, and equality:  I'm not saying that women politicians can't make the same mistake.  I'm not saying women might not commit an act of infidelity.  I'm just saying the temptation & the ideology aren't quite the same.  When was the last time you saw advertisements for a Headless Man Whore site?  I'm just saying...

LEAVE HER ALONE: On American's Bizarre Obsession with Sex Scandals

Like many New Yorkers, I was dismayed by the news that Eliot Spitzer has been caught in a scandal over high-priced prostitutes;  Spitzer is quite possibly the most intelligent, fiercest governor that New York state has ever had (seriously--he got a perfect score on his LSATs).  Granted, his administration had already run into trouble before Monday's announcement, but it would have been interesting to see how he met those challenges.  Now, however, all of his goals for change & reform have gone up in flames.  The tragic fact is that Spitzer no longer has political clout because he compromised his ethics and broke the law.  We can have a longer conversation about whether or not prostitution should be legal, about whether or not sex scandals should even be considered in the public sphere.  However, I have to say that at the moment, Spitzer's own widely public crusades against corruption--including exposing 2 prostitution rings--make his staying in office impossible. 

But, this post isn't about him.  It's about his wife, Silda Wall Spitzer.  Yesterday's news cycle was weirdly misogynist.  (I mean, when isn't it, but yesterday was really bizarre).  Locally, our public radio station's call-in show, "The Brian Lehrer Show" had a segment on why women appear in public with their husbands when the husbands have strayed.  The comments ranged from sane to truly crazy!  Two different list servs that I am on went ballistic in criticizing Wall Spitzer for "standing by her man" and "setting a bad example" to young women.

Here's a little excerpt for "flavor" from Upstream and Downstream:

She looks like an automaton, eyes vacant, and not nearly deep enough to contain the hurt. Women see it. Women feel it. And women think: no way would I stand beside the podium while my husband issued his apology. Why should I? Why should I act supportive when I feel nothing of the sort?

Ignoring a beloved's faults is one thing; standing by the man who just stuck a knife in your back is another.

How about this one from HubDub?

Also, as has become custom with these things, Silda Wall Spitzer fulfilled her duty as the State of New York's first lady by standing silently by her man and allowing herself to be dragged down in the public condemnation. This must have been particularly difficult for two reasons – firstly, to stand stoic and silent while her husband delivered a speech which barely acknowledged his wrongdoing, when the overwhelming, impulsive urge in such a situation would surely have been to give her husband a swift kick in the groin. Secondly, as an attractive woman with a Harvard law degree, the public criticism and humiliation directed at Wall Spitzer has been scathing and debasing. Women defiantly swear that they would never stay with a cheating partner, let alone publicly endorse him.

And this:  "Public Questions Spitzer's Wife's Support During Prostitute Scandal":

When Silda Wall Spitzer stood beside her husband in ashen-faced misery the other day as the governor made his brief apology in the prostitution scandal, she uttered not a word. Yet she launched a thousand conversations

"Why is she standing there?" many women wondered. "Should she be? Would I be?"

And for many, who've seen a long line of wronged political spouses do the same, from Hillary Rodham Clinton to Dina Matos McGreevey to Suzanne Craig, the immediate answer was a resounding, "Hell, no."

Here's my take:  leave Silda Wall Spitzer alone.  As if it isn't enough that she has to endure the private pain and public scrutiny of her husband's infidelity, the public is now going to judge her?  Choices that people make--to forgive or to walk away--from relationships are highly private and highly personal.  And, just because someone is an elected official or the spouse of an elected official, doesn't give the public any right to judge their relationship and the choices they make, including attending a press conference.  I think it's a weird sort of misogyny that makes people want to comment on situations like these because people become very invested in "the right choice", as if there's some Legoland prescription for building the perfect marriage.  All of the blog posts about "standing by her man" and reducing the very real pain of this situation to some cliched country song infuriates me.

Moreover, I think it speaks to a kind of subtle misogyny.  By judging her--and other political wives--for showing up at these kinds of press conferences, people are inadvertently (or sometimes, in the case of the always disgusting Dr. Laura) casting blame on the woman and her role in the marriage.  As if it's a public outing of her inability to be "the good wife."  What alarms me the most is number of women jumping on the bandwagon of bashing the wife.  As if our own romantic relationships are endangered just by this woman's decision to stand next to her husband.  Do you really think her pained face was some kind of tacit endorsement of her husband's behavior?  Her expression was one of the most silent condemnations I've ever seen.

As I said last summer with the Larry Craig "bathroom" affair--I actually have a hard time with people who want to rejoice in other people's pain.  I think there's a very real difference between attacking policies and decisions that people make about public life and their private lives.  Forget the separation of church & state.  Let's have a little separation of private and public life.  What Silda Wall Spitzer decides to do in her own life has no bearing on what we do in our private lives.  That's why the private part should remain private.

I think that many people were troubled by the obvious pain on Silda Wall Spitzer's face at the press conference.  Yeah.  It's uncomfortable to see people in pain.  Yeah.  She could have stayed home.  We don't know why she chose to be there, but she did.  She's a smart, well-educated lawyer.  If she didn't want to be there, she wouldn't have been.  While she and her daughters may be victims in her husband's allegedly "victimless crime", she isn't some pushover cookie cutter politician's Stepford wife.  She has already led interesting initiatives as First Lady, like greening the governor's mansion and hosting the "I Live New York" conference.  Calling her a "human prop" is insulting.

Maybe more of us should think about the fact that what we get everyday are weirdly smiling photos of our politicians while they announce regressive political measures and wars.  In our instantly beautiful society of chemicals and surgery and photoshop, we're unaccustomed to seeing people look like real people.

Silda Wall Spitzer is a real person with real emotions about the situation she faces.  Bottom line?  Leave her alone.  Want to post a funny/satirical/cynical blog post?  Choose your targets wisely and ethically.  Judge Eliot all you want--I may agree or disagree--but he should be the target of the outrage, not her. 

From the misogyny files:

Silda Spitzer, Human Prop
"I'm Keeping the House"
Dr. Laura:  It's the Wife's Fault!
Silda's Song
Why, Silda, why?
Here's My Token Feminist POV
NPRs "Classy" Spouses in Scandal Gallery
Hillary Answers Silda's 3 a.m. Call (Because it's funny to heap even more humiliation on these women)

About Silda Wall Spitzer's initiatives as First Lady of New York
Bio

Other Relevant Reading:

American Street on Spitzer/Resignation
ICKY!  Screen shots and "diamond ratings" for the "models" available from the Emperor's Club

Overheard at the Bus Stop

Kid #1:  "Santa can do ANYTHING."
Kid #2:  "No he can't."
Kid #1:  "Yes he can!"
Kid #2:  "Nut uh.  Santa can't shoot red hot lasers out of his eyes."

Sigh.  Probably not.

New York's "Green" Christmas Tree

Merry.  Merry.  In the snow, no less.

Imagination Photo: Descriptive "Snapshot" of Flushing, NY

I have been having trouble with my camera lately, and so I missed a great shot/series of shots yesterday.  So, I decided to bring it to you in words. 

Yesterday, I headed off to Flushing, Queens for a doctor's appointment.  For those of you unfamiliar with New York, Flushing is the "real" Chinatown today.  While many people live and work in China town in Manhattan, the area has also become increasingly tourist-driven.  Flushing, Queens, on the other hand, is located at the end of Queens and is a huge neighborhood for recent immigrants and is currently the second largest Chinatown in the U.S.  The neighborhood is a bustling combination of Chinese, Korean, Latino, African-American, White, Indian, and Southeast Asian residents. 

When you step off the 7 train at the last stop, you climb a set of stairs and emerge into a totally different world.  The buildings are a mixture of utilitarian apartment buildings with shops on the first floor, historic buildings with characteristic 18th and 19th century architecture, historic landmarks like the Friends Meetings House (1694) and Kingsland Homestead (1785), new buildings like the beautiful Queens Public Library--long and sleek, undulating silver waves for half a block, and emerging signs of gentrification like Joe's Burgers, Old Navy, and Starbuck's.  Unlike the shops in Manhattan's Chinatown hocking touristy chotchke, Flushing is a neighborhood set up for people to live their everyday lives.  So, you walk amid stores selling saris and duck and vegetables and furniture. English largely disappears.  In its place, signs in Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and Vietnamese dominate the streets, the beautiful calligraphy trimming the streets like ephemeral black lace.

The stores are largely door-less (they have something like a garage door that pulls down at the end of the day), allowing them to extend the store onto the sidewalk.  So, without intending to, you walk through store after store as you walk down the sidewalk.  It's almost like walking through a traditional farmer's market.  Tables packed with ice offer fresh fish and seafood.  Other tables and crates and bins have everything from lychee nuts to cherries to bok choi. 

Near the Long Island Railroad underpass, a stainless steel, half-block long stand allows hungry shoppers to step up and order dumplings and noodles and chicken dishes.  The air is full of intoxicating smells of broths and herbs and meat, tempting the bustling crowds along the street to stop and have something to eat.

A little further along, I came across a sign that said "Traditional Chinese Medicine" in neatly printed letters.  Next to the English text were a set of Chinese characters, which I assume said the same thing.  The healer, an older woman wearing a bamboo hat, had set up a desk in front of her store with a blood pressure cuff and a scale.  People were lined up half-way around the block to meet with her.  The store, door-less and open to the environment, had barrels and crates of herbs and plants and spices, all labeled with neat, Chinese characters.

When I got back to my neighborhood later in the day, I couldn't help but feel that I'd been temporarily transported to a different world.  It was exciting, in the way that all travel is exciting, and for just a few moments, made me forget where I was. 

Photo Essay: Graffiti--What's New is Old

 

When I first moved to New York, the streets were remarkably free of graffiti.  This is no surprise, since I moved to New York in the Guiliani years and after the controversial 1995 Anti-Graffiti Task Force/Quality of Life crime enforcement.  And, in particular, in my neighborhood, there was no graffiti whatsoever.  Lately, however, a group of kids have been tagging in my neighborhood and it's really given me pause.  I have always been a fan of graffiti that makes me think, that interrupts the urban landscape, that poses questions, problems, and challenges.  In short, graffiti as political protest and graffiti as subversive commentary speaks to me. 

From the Brooklyn Museum:

Forms of graffiti have been discovered on ancient Roman and Mayan architecture and like today were both illegal and a form of communication. Modern graffiti, which is associated with hip-hop culture and spans all racial and economic groups, began in the mid- to late 1960s; it made its way to New York City and quickly became a phenomenon. Urban youth used the sides of subway trains and buildings as their canvases, reclaiming sections of their neighborhoods by "tagging" them with stylized renditions of their names or the names of the groups they formed. The self-taught graffiti artists turned the walls of public (and sometimes private) buildings into giant panoramas and subway cars into moving murals.

I "get" the history of graffiti, and I think it's an important form of social commentary.  For example, early on in my New York life, I got lost trying to get to the BQE.  I ended up on a street in Brooklyn, lodged between a police depot and a large urban housing project.  On the wall of one of the buildings was an amazing piece that said "Ain't no fuckin' co-op here."  Thus, the beginning of my awareness about housing issues in New York.

But lately, I've been annoyed in my neighborhood because a tagger/group of taggers have taken to scribbling on every possible surface, including the wall of a local preschool.  And I hate it!  Seriously?  The poor janitor for that school is perpetually painting over the word "srry."  Can you imagine a lifetime of erasing sorry?  It's just obnoxious and I find myself wanting to find the kid who keeps doing it and slap him/her silly.  So, I've been struggling with what that means.  In response, I've spent the last few weeks taking pictures of graffiti.  My eye is definitely drawn to the more colorful pieces.

And it makes me feel like some of today's graffiti is just derivative.  What's the point now, I wonder, after the graffiti art of the 1970s, in making the same statement?  For me, that applies to taggers like "srry" and "2hips" above.  It's just, well, annoying and feels a little like someone scribbling on the wall with a paint can. 

On the other hand, I feel like the other pieces above are visually, politically, and intellectually interesting.  I love the truck (Union Square farmer's market) and the murals and graffiti on the Mars Bar on the Lower East Side.  I love the murals.  They're complicated, they're intricate, and I get lost in the color and narrative of the paint.

But I'm not just "anti-tagging."  While I know that I am more drawn to pieces and murals, because of their complexity, I can also understand the simplicity of a quick "message to the world."  In another part of my daily life, I walk over a bridge that has been tagged repeatedly over the last two years.  Every formerly plain surface is now tagged and there's not much visually interesting about it.  I find their work interesting because the taggers are often in dialogue with one another and I like to read what they've written and how they literally talk to one another in words.  "Fuck Ciara Has AIDS" is from that walk and every day I think, yeah, "fuck."  I connect to what I read as a desperation to communicate in that simple, scribbled statement. 

Graffiti artist Coda says, ""To pour your soul onto a wall and be able to step back and see your fears, your hopes, your dreams, your weaknesses, really give you a deeper understanding of yourself and your own mental state."  I get that and when I see a lot of graffiti I can see that--I can see how it functions as not just an internal exercise for the artist, but how it rises to the level of engagement with the viewer--it acts on us just as it acts on the soul of the artist. 

And so I've arrived at the not-so-brilliant conclusion that not all graffiti is equally impressive.  I've been inspired by the Graffiti Report Card to begin rating graffiti in my own head as a way of making distinctions between different kinds of graffiti.

(Graffiti Report Card from Brandon Thomas Baunach)--See also Graffiti Critique from the Wooster Collective

Design Crack explains of the report card:

It’s a project I started a couple of months ago after seeing my neighborhood (The Mission District of San Francisco) receive an amazing amount of ugly, large, and talentless graffiti. I wanted a way to combat the ugly graffiti while at the same time give praise to the talented graffiti writers who I feel make the streets more beautiful. It occurred to me, that many of our local taggers don’t realize how ugly and talentless their graffiti is, so I wanted to give them some feedback.

There are certainly many people who understand the history and politics of graffit better than I do (see links below), but I wanted to spend some time thinking about my own reactions to what I was seeing and to interrogate and challenge my assumptions.  Think of this as a "visual thought" exercise.  See the whole set of photos here.  (I'll add to them as I find other examples I like).

Read On:

• Art Crimes:  The Writing on the Wall
• Art Crimes:  Best Graffiti Sites
• NYC Crews
• Graffiti Playdo
• Graffiti on Flickr
• Brooklyn Museum Exhibit (2006)
• Graffiti Research Lab (graffiti + digital technology)--Seriously cool
• Graffiti Artists Need Not Apply
• Graffiti In Its Own Words
• Love Graffiti
• Graffiti Planet
• Graffiti Report Card
• Garage Magazine

Real Recycling Comes to New York

The New York City Spring 2007 Public Recycling Project is putting these bins in some (too few!) public places as a pilot project for NYC recycling. The bins are in:

Bronx: Poe Park Brooklyn: Columbus Park Manhattan: Union Square Park & Whitehall Ferry Terminal Queens: Hoffman Park Staten Island: Tappen Park, Cloves Lake Park, St. George Ferry Terminal At each location, there will be pairs of recycling containers, both within the sites as well as the perimeters, to capture recyclables from passersby.

I think it's a smashing idea; I'm not sure why it's a pilot project instead of a full-blown recycling/education effort, but it's a good start. So, if you see them, use them!

'Nother Cool NYC Blog

Abandoned Bicycles of New York. Uber Cool.

Overheard in New York 2

Standing on the 59th platform waiting for a downtown 6 train on Saturday afternoon.  The train is delayed and the crowd on the platform swells.  One young woman, clearly battling a hang over while also juggling several large suitcases, shrieks and points at several rats scampering over the tracks.  "Ewwww..." she says and points.

The guy standing next to her says, "At least they aren't eating each other."

Just another day in NYC...

Overheard in New York

Setting the scene:

Starbuck's, Upper Eastside of New York, Sunday morning.  I'm standing in line waiting for my grande soy cappuccino (with an extra shot of caffeine-goodness) when all hell breaks loose to my right in the small space between the "retail" wall with mugs and syrups and the counter where you pick up your drinks.  A small green tic tac glistens on the floor.  A small hand snatches it and eats it. 

The source of the noise?  A small New Yorker, perhaps 3 or 4 in age, dressed from head to toe in pink, including pink rain boots.  Her opponent?  A beleaguered mother pushing a baby stroller and juggling multiple bags.

Mom with Bags:  "I am serious.  Spit that OUT!"

Pink Boots:  "I am serious too, mommy.  No."

Mom with Bags:  "You cannot, CAN-NOT pick up things off the floor and put them in your mouth.  It's dangerous.  It's disgusting.  I am talking very serious here and you have to listen to me.  Spit it out."

Pink Boots, now with hands on hips, extending her tongue:  "All gone.  I am talking serious too, mommy.  You didn't make breakfast.  You never make breakfast.  I get my own food."

And the barista calls out an iced skim latte for mom.

Snow: The Problem in New York

We were hammered with a snow storm last night and it revealed one of the worst things about New York:  snow and cars.  A few years ago we gave up our car, and on days like this, I'm glad we did.  The roads have not been plowed;  people are trying to drive over snow banks of 4-6 inches of snow and getting stuck.  Others take the time to dig out their cars only to have their spots immediately taken by others.  Sidewalks aren't shoveled, people out for walks slip and fall.  Flights are cancelled left and right.  It's a comedy of errors.  You'd think one of the "best" cities in the world could clear a little snow, eh?

OBNOXIOUS New Yorker--Over the Top

Okay, I've spent the last few weeks totally immersed in various writing projects, so I've been in a bit of my own homeade bubble.  Yesterday, however, as I braved out into greater New York, I was overcome by the obnoxiousness of New Yorkers.  Forget the woman who pushed me down the stairs to make her train (ummm.... there will be another one in 3 minutes?), forget the rude kids on the subway after school, I want to talk about...what else?  The grocery store.  I ran into the grocery store before a meeting last night.  A woman, talking on her bright pink cell phone was blocking the door.  I said "Excuse me" to try and get into the store.  She glared at me.  I stepped over her dog to get in.  Then, what to my wondering eyes appeared but:  a grocery store employee with a pencil and pad.  The woman dictated her order.  The young girl then ran around the store getting items for the woman who remained blocking the entrance to the door.  Already over the top, right?  I have no idea what was going on.  But then, the girl came back with 5 different boxes of sandwich bags, apparently unclear about which kind the woman wanted.  The woman couldn't stop talking on her cell phone to answer the question!!!  The poor kid stood there, with the woman's creepy dog panting at her, while the woman yakked away on her phone.  Are you kidding me?  I love New York.  Yeah.

Subversive Knitting...

When I was in the seventh grade, I had an unfortunate encounter with knitting.  My Girl Scout leader, well intentioned, brought in horrible pastel yarn and needles with the intention of wanting us to learn how to knit baby blankets.  I wasn't much into babies.  At that age I either had my nose in a book or I was climbing the tree in the front yard.  I thought I'd be an astronaut or a marine biologist.  While I knew that my mother and my grandmother both knit, neither of them did so at the time.  They were both heavily involved in their careers at the time.  My grandmother was traveling the world and my mother was starting her dissertation.  So, I was bored by the very notion of knitting.  Girl Scouts didn't last much longer.

So, when I started knitting two years ago, I entered a little dubious.  By then, both my mother and my grandmother had returned to knitting, and we had collected many other people who knit along the way.  They were all cool, doing things like buying amazing yarns and making sweaters, bags, hats, and gloves.  And I couldn't participate much, so I jumped into the frey.  Two years later, oodles of hats and scarves and 2 bags later, I'm hooked.  I spend my free time in yarn shops and I have more yarn than I have time to knit.

So today, when I went to the Museum of Design to see the Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting exhibit, I was really excited by the yoking of politics and knitting.  Of course, in the meantime, radical protests like the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt had also changed my understanding of art and protest. 

The exhibit features an internationally diverse group of artists seeking to challenge traditional expectations of textile arts.  I was most excited by Althea Merback's micro-knitting on medical needles and by Sheila Pepe's installation, "Midtown."  Pepe's installation, which stretches the length of the room is two to three layers deep of floor to ceiling blue and white and black cords knitted together.  It's the single best representation of New York City ever!  I love the sensation of webs encompassing you from every direction.  It's the sense of the city I have when I walk, the interconnectedness, the all encompassing nature of the environment.

It's an excellent exhibit and one that really presented many visual and textual challenges to the traditional notions of knitting.  If you're in New York before June, it's a must see!

Some artists featured in the exhibit:

Anne Wilson

• Hildur Bjarnadóttir 
• Dave Cole
• Liz Collins
• Janet Echelman
• Sabrina Gschwandtner
• Elena Herzog
• Yoshiki Hishinuma
• Cal Lane
• Ruth Marshall
• Edward Mayer
• Cat Mazza
• Althea Merback
• Freddie Robins
• Niels van Eijk
• Erna van Sambeek
• Eugène van Veldhoven
• Henk Wolvers
• Barbara Zucker

• Good Article on Feminist Art in Feminist Forum

Take my iPod and I might very well bite you.

There's no analysis here, just pure emotion:  Take my iPod and I might very well bite you.  And I'm not kidding.  NY1 interviewed some idiot legislator who said "people use iPods to block out noise."  DUH.  Do you KNOW what the DECIBEL level in this stupid city is?  I'd rather rock out to anything than hear my subway/sidewalk/inmyspace neighbor's cell phone conversation.  Hands off, laws off of the iPod.  I'm not kidding.

Hillary Clinton: Live Webcast 2

Here we are back again on day two of live Hillary Clinton blogging.  As with last night's web cast, tonight's web cast will be archived later, so you can watch it at your leisure. Clinton will be doing this again tomorrow (1/24) both at 7 p.m.  You can e-mail your questions in 2 hours before the webcast begins.  I'm going to go through her question/responses again tonight:

1.  Aesthetic:  still wearing pink, only this time covered up by a blueish gray suit coat.  Lose the pink.  Seriously.

2.  Clinton is hitting on a lot of the same themes she did last night:  health care, middle-class lifestyle, and benefits for reserve troops returning home from Iraq.  I'll skip some of the repeat questions.

Not surprisingly, people are asking questions about the struggles of people to make ends meet.  Interestingly, Clinton talks about expecting help from your government.  She compares expectations for the relationship between a people and its government to the kind of post-WWII society that sought to offer social programs to people to make their lives better economically.  Clinton invoked "renewing the promise of America" meaning health care costs, saving for education, making a commitment to retirement plans, the environment, a strong union movement, and "sharing the wealth" between employers and employees-- in short, "where are the wage increases?"

3.  Interestingly:  what is Clinton's position on the FDA?  Clinton said that she is continuing to fight for the independence and scientific standing of the FDA.  WOO HOO!  CLINTON IS TALKING ABOUT THE POLITICS OF PLAN B AND THE FDA.  She is retelling the history of the FDA struggle over Plan B.  EXCELLENT HILLARY!  I didn't think she'd take this on so early in the campaign. Congratulations, Hillary, you just signed on most of the feminists in the blogosphere.  She's now widening her discussion to testing for comparative effectiveness of drugs.  Finally, she's moving away from drugs altogether and discussing food safety.  She wants to have a separate agency responsible for food safety.  But, until that's possible, she wants to increase funding for FDA.  All in all, an excellent plan to return the FDA to a more scientific basis.

4.  On integrity in the voting system:  Clinton is discussing the "Count Every Vote" act and the importance of ensuring that people's votes count.  She is aggressively critiquing electronic voting machines.  She's also singling out the intimidation of voters.  She's addressing lots of the concerns that we heard out of the last several elections to protect the right to franchise:  phone calls and flyers suggesting that people can't vote.  "We're supposed to be the model of democracy.  We cannot afford to have a voting system that's a laughingstock.  That would be the beginning of the end."  One of the things I noticed last night is that Clinton is not pulling her punches.  She is really hitting certain issues head on.  Good, solid answers.  Good response to the question.

5.  On Iraq and an exit strategy:  "I'm against the President's escalation...for more than a year and a half I've advocated for something quite different."  She's addressing the on-going need to address the political struggles in Iraq.  Sorry, Hillary, but this isn't going to be enough to win over those voters who are angry that you voted for the war in the first place.

6.  On gay and lesbian issues:  looking straight at the camera, head on, eyes focused she said:  yes, I would feel comfortable supporting lgbtq legislation.  She pointed to discrimination saying "Americans should be against discrimination."  She couldn't have been more clear about how supportive she is.  This was a very strong set of answers about the need for discrimination to end.  Give that woman a GLAAD award already.  No mainstream candidate other than Dean has addressed LGBTQ issues so clearly and definitively so early one.  I've followed the issue   She listed major issues for the LGBTQ issue like inheritance, visitation in hospitals, etc., and, very importantly:  "I support civil unions."

7.  Clinton takes on a great question about blogging and talked about the role she hopes it will play in helping to connect to potential voters.  This is the Clinton strategy in a nutshell:  make it real.

Okay, like last night, another strong standing.  Clinton is hitting some issues harder than I thought she would this early on.  She isn't afraid to show her real, strong opinions on issues.  High marks tonight on women's and lgbtq issues.  I'm even more pleased than I was last night.  Excellent work!

Hillary Clinton: Live Webcast

Look:  I know that many of my regular readers are not Clinton lovers.  I know that you think that Hillary isn't yet "the candidate" because you're not sure of her platform.  While I understand that criticism, I'm throwing my support, early on, for Clinton and this will be the first of many, many posts on Hillary Clinton for president.  It's time for a powerful woman president and I think she's a good bet.  I like her.  She's smart; she's a feminist; she's proven herself, with the exception of her vote for the war in Iraq, with a very good record as the junior Senator from New York.  I think she has represented the state well and has shown that she has the capacity to govern well. 

So, in that spirit:  I'm lurking on the Clinton live webcast right now [okay, you know I'm gearing up for live SOTU blogging tomorrow night].  So, tonight, it's live HC Webcast blogging.  Clinton's webcast will be archived later, so you can watch it at your leisure.  Clinton will be doing this again tomorrow (1/23) and Wednesday night (1/24) both at 7 p.m.  You can e-mail your questions in 2 hours before the webcast begins.  I'm going to go through her question/responses as she takes questions tonight:

1.  Clearly taking a page from Dean, this whole election promises to be very interesting given how candidates are already using the internet from candidacy announcements to town hall meetings in Second Life to webcasts responding to questions from the web savvy.  We don't have to wait for intermediaries like journalists or news reports, but we're getting direct access (or the feeling of direct access) already.  Clinton is being smart about this:  she isn't waiting for town hall meetings or debates;  she's already connecting with potential voters.

2.  From the flowers and family photos in Clinton's candidacy announcement to the pink suit she's wearing on the webcast right now, they are clearly trying to "soften" Clinton's perceived hard edge.  In a way, I wish she'd take a page from Madeleine Albright--red power suits and no nonsense.

3.  Taking a page from her husband:  Hillary is really identifying herself with the people from first name basis to where people live.  She's really coming across as "real" here.  Very nice.  Very approachable.

4.  Giddy and uncritical moment:  when Clinton says "as your president..."  I get goosebumps.  I understand that people don't want to vote for Clinton just because she's a woman (hello--Libby Dole anyone?  No amount of estrogen was going to gain her my vote).  At the same time, it's very powerful to hear Clinton invoke the possibilities of the presidency.

5. Question about health care from a single woman who works as a hair dresser:  I think this is the issue Clinton can make her own.  I know that she had a bad start with this during Bill's presidency, but the moment seems right.  We really need to address health care.   I'd like to hear Hillary be more specific on a platform here--she's a little vague.  Right now she's talking about "buying into Medicare."  It's just too vague.

6.  Good move--Clinton, in answering a question about foreign oil is directing listeners/viewers to her website where she is already putting up copies of old speeches, legislation that she's introduced, etc.  to round out her answers.  This is really smart.  She's pointing to her record.  While in the past many senators have had trouble winning elections because of their public voting record, with so many senators possibly running this time, I think that's less of an issue.  I think it's a good thing to get the voting record out there now, along with a clear record on policy issues.  This is where both Gore and Kerry went they were too wishy washy on everything.  Controversial or not, Clinton needs to really own her voting record and her stand on issues.  Bush certainly hasn't apologized for tough stands on different issues, and that directness won him the votes of many Americans who felt they knew what he stood for (of course for those of use who were quite clear about what he stood for, it's rather frightening that people actually voted for him...) 

7.  Good question on the United States' relation to the rest of the world.  She says we need a new approach and we need to repair relations with the rest of the world.  Hillary says:  we cannot "kill, occupy, jail" all of the bad guys.... but we can surround them if people are cheering for us.  Excellent move!  She's pointing out that we've "squandered" the good will of the rest of the world.  She is also commenting on the idiocy of not talking to the enemy;  she's noting that the first rule of warfare is "know your enemy," but we're (the U.S.) flying blind.  This is another issue Hillary can make her own.  She is an educated woman who clearly understands foreign policy.  She isn't going to be xenophobic; and the next president will have to make international relations a top priority.

8.  Newsflash from Hillary:  Pulling out of Kyoto was a mistake.  Duh!  "Don't turn your back and pretend that global climate change isn't real."  (Thanks Hillary--with ice in California and 70 degree temperatures in New York in January, we'd agree!)  "Just because you don't agree with the problem doesn't make it go away."  Amen to that.  Go Hillary!

9.  The last question tonight is from an older American preparing for retirement.  Clinton is talking about new ideas for retirement.  Again, as with the health care issue, this is a little vague.  She's going to need to get much more specific, much sooner.  However, in closing on this question, she comments that she believes that health care and pensions are part of a basic bargain between the American people and their government.  All of which bodes well, no?

So, in her first outing, I'd give Clinton a 10/10 on approach.  She did an excellent job answering questions and relating to the viewers.  I'd give her a 7/10 on substance.  She has ideas, but she needs to get better--quickly--about articulating clear policies and plans.  We've languished for too long in an era of bad ideas.  Clinton needs to stand out as a no-nonsense, clearly directed, and very in control candidate with the best ideas and most implementable policies.

Good start!  I'm looking forward to tomorrow night.

And in closing, here's a little note from the "The United States is going down the drain" file.  I received my "hey it's almost your birthday Social Security update" today.  No joke:  in the section entitled "What Social Security Means to You," the letter says that Social Security will be broke by 2040.  Here's exactly what the letter says:  "Without changes, by 2040 the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted.  By then, the number of Americans 65 years or older is expected to have doubled.  There won't be enough younger people working to pay all of the benefits owed to those who are retiring."  (It may have said this previously, but I never actually read it before).  Anyway.  Nice.  But we have $100 billion to spend on a war.

See also:  Silence and Voice for comments on tonight's Clinton webcast.

Why Did the Subway Stop?

Everyday on the subway, we face small, and large, delays.  Often, the train stops because of "a sick passenger."  Yesterday, the Associated Press reported many of those sick passengers are hungry dieters!

Sick subway passengers, most of them dieters who faint from dizziness, are among the top causes of train delays, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
....
"Not eating for three or four days, you are going to go down," Nelson said. "If you don't eat for 12 hours, you are going to get weak."

Oh yeah.  Welcome back to New York.

Study of Light

So, happy winter solstice, dear readers.  I've been working on a project called "Study of Light"that's on flickr, something which I will update again in January, after the holidays are over.  I've been thinking a lot about light and the quality of distilled light at this time of year.  I was talking with a friend about this project and she said, "I always put my Christmas tree up early because the dark is just so depressing."  I don't think I've hit on anything particularly original here, but this is my take.  I love the lights that pop up at this time of year;  by studying light, I feel like I often understand what makes people tick.  Light and personality seem linked somehow.  More complicated (and more difficult to study) is people's reactions to light.  Walking up Fifth Avenue in New York last Sunday, people flocked to see the lights and holiday window displays.  The air was palpable with good cheer.  When the famous singing snowflakes at Saks Fifth Avenue started at the top of the hour, people actually cheered.  It wasn't much like everyday New York at all.

I always think about holiday lights at this time of year because I live in a largely Orthodox Jewish neighborhood.  Christmas lights of any kind are few and far between.  Yet when I see the flicker of Christmas tree lights in an upstairs window or on a balcony, it always lifts my spirits. 

So, I've been trying to capture different presentations of light as the darkest day of the year started to come our way.  You'll see a number of public and private views of light.  You'll also see light as it appears in some storefront window displays.  You can view the photo set here.  Happy winter solstice! 

New York City Classic

My blog, like most aspects of my life, is in great need of attention.  The age-old pressures of the end-of-term completely took over everything!  So, now that grades are in, it's time to catch up on the old blog.  I'm going to ease in with a series of photo blog entries.

First up:  the New York City Classic.

Early in November, signs appeared all over our street instructing drivers to move their cars for "roadwork."  Here's what the road looked like:
it was a "regular" New York City road.  It had some potholes (most of which I hit, head-on during roller blading this summer) and some rough patches, but frankly, it wasn't as bad as roads like the Long Island Expressway or the Brooklyn/Queens Expressway. 

A few hours and many towed cars later (complete with an official New York City bullhorn attached to a car, going around the block yelling that if we didn't move our cars [what car?], we'd be towed), here's what our street looked like:

And, away went the workers and the trucks, leaving us with a stripped, rough, and spotty street.  We breathlessly await their return.

What Does It Mean?

A random black knee high stocking, hanging from a tree branch across the street.  Did the Wicked Witch of the West have a good time partying on my street last night?

A woman reading The New York Times, upside down, across from me on the subway.  Was she a spy, practicing her reading skills, or did she just not notice?

Let's Call It Atmospherically Appropriate...

Sheryl Crow, in her often misunderstood definition of "ironic" would include the following anecdote in her song.  But, it's not technically irony:  it's just atmospherically appropriate.  As we were waiting for over 2 hours to get into the Holland Tunnel last night, one of the NYC radio stations played a host of suicide songs, including "Suicide is Painless."  Yes, indeed.  Especially compared to trying to enter NYC on a Sunday night after Thanksgiving.

The Real Geek Love

Ahhhh...the real story of NextFest!  From sexbots to platform shoes, sex is going cyber in the best and worst ways!

Forget Ann Althouse.  This might begin to say it all:

Bright.  Pink.  Cyber.  Boobs.  This is the stuff of 1980s Weird Science, with young boys sweatily ostracized from their schoolmates, toiling away in the basement creating, well, the woman who wouldn't have them in real life.  This is what you might call the worst of cybersex:  the ballroom robot.  Observe:  here are the men at work on their cotton candyesque creation: