So on my drive down from Albany I listened to some Rush Limbaugh and O’Reilly Factor. Why you may ask…well a friend of mine who is a liberal loves to listen to that stuff to hear what the enemy is saying. Ha!

Fortunately, I’m still a liberal.

So this is what I heard on Rush:

A dude called in and said “dirty Harry Reid and dirty Hilary Clinton should make a dirty, dirty baby” or something along those lines with the words “dirty,” “baby,” and “make.” Yeah…!

Also Rush could not get over the fact that the French President Sarkozy said some positive things about the US.

SARKOZY (via translator): To the millions of men and women who came from every country in the world and who, with their own hands, their intelligence, and their hearts, built the greatest nation in the world, America did not say, “Come, and everything will be given to you.” Rather, she said, “Come, and the only limits to what you will be able to achieve will be those of your own courage, your boldness, and your talent.”

RUSH: Right on, right on, right on. Second bite. VIA

***

Then on O’Reilly’s Radio Factor (hosted by someone else other than Bill, thank God) there was an actual effective (!?!?!) conversation about intelligent design and a recent court case in Pennsylvania. I need to find a suitable link.

FYI this halfway decent conversation didn’t win me over to the dark side.
***

Sean Hannity also was interesting with a lot of soldiers calling in. He seems to position himself as the only guy who will listen to and actually cares about the troops. He definitely was taking advantage of emotions.

But this Bridge Club is super gutsy…

In a fight reminiscent of the brouhaha over an anti-Bush statement by Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks in 2003, a team of women who represented the United States at the world bridge championships in Shanghai last month is facing sanctions, including a yearlong ban from competition, for a spur-of-the-moment protest.

At issue is a crudely lettered sign, scribbled on the back of a menu, that was held up at an awards dinner and read, “We did not vote for Bush.”

Wow, that is pretty cool in my book, the women explained themselves via a comment from their team captain:

“What we were trying to say, not to Americans but to our friends from other countries, was that we understand that they are questioning and critical of what our country is doing these days, and we want you to know that we, too, are critical,” Ms. Greenberg said, stressing that she was speaking for herself and not her six teammates.

It is definitely reminiscent of the whole unfortunate, blown out of proportion Dixie Chicks scenario. Some popular culture pundits claim it is trendy to speak out against the war and Pres. Bush and that it is more acceptable to do so (See massive articles about the latest slew of “anti-war” movies). I always doubted this and this whole incident shows that it is not A-OK to use our free speech rights. Anyone who says this is NOT about free speech, is badly misinformed.

I hope these Bridge players go unpunished and our further lauded for their courageous behavior and encouraged to continue to speak/act out against actions and figures they believe are UnAmerican.

I also love how this references voting, showing that these women participated in their duties as American citizens.

(Posting will still be light)

Warren Jeffs admits he’s not THE prophet!

Learned this while watching CNN, AC 360 to be exact.  Andy Cooper said this stuff goes on unnoticed in the US. Yeah, if unnoticed means “every night on CNN.”

But this is a huge revelation for the Short Creek gang. Wow.

More commentary later.

my NetNewsWire stops working and doesn’t reload my RSS feeds…Oh Well.

I’m currently watching The Ku Klux Klan - A Secret History.

It’s VERY VERY disturbing.  I never had any idea that the klan had such power in Indiana.

Here’s some info here.

It’s been a year since I first started blogging here. I thought about doing a recap of the last year but I think I’ll save that for another time.

Instead, I want to write about a movie I saw this weekend, My Super Ex-Girlfriend. From the beginning of this film, I started tot think about the representations of female super heroes we have in Western culture. There is Super Woman, Bat Woman, Wonder Woman, Shera Princess of Power and a few others. All of these super hero(ines) are seen in short skirts and high-heeled boots.

While these images are not realistic, neither is the idea of a super hero. My Super Ex-Girlfriend doesn’t disappoint in the unrealistic department. The film was funny in moments but what I found disturbing was the story behind the transformation of a normal adolescent to a super powered heroine. Uma Thurman plays G-Girl, a young woman who gained super powers when an asteroid hit the Earth. During the flashback of G-Girl gaining her power, she goes from thin, ungainly brunette to a busty, curvy blonde. That’s right as soon as you become a super hero, you get a sexier body. Or at least “sexy” as defined by Western traditions.

My first thought was how “sexist and typical” but then I started to think about how many young women go through that alteration every day by changing their looks through a bottle of dye or surgery. There are a lot of TV shows that revolve around these sorts of transformations. Are they sexist? Probably. But is also natural to doubt one’s appearance and wish to change it. It seems to be the means one goes through to change one’s appearance that defines whether the change is extreme. Is there a major distinction between a young woman getting highlights or getting a new set of breasts? Yes, I believe there is but I don’t think the thinking process behind the action is that different.

In the movie, Uma Thurman plays a neurotic woman looking to hold on to her man. What is funny about this film is that it abandons past stereotypes about super heroes being pillars of the society and using their powers for good only. Unfortunately, G-Girl uses her powers to scare her ex boyfriend after he broke up with her. She is also written as a crazy sex fiend who likes to use her super powers in the bedroom which in turn emasculates her boyfriend. This emasculation is, of course, used for laughs in the film. But it gets old when once the viewer realizes it’s a plot device that been used before.

As far as your average Luke Wilson romantic comedy, My Super Ex-Girlfriend is standard. What I don’t get is why Uma Thurman would agree to be in this. She usually makes pretty smart movies. It does bring up some valid issues about the unfortunate ways women and their desires are portrayed.

I hope the next film that features a super heroine is more intelligent and does not rely on old tricks and gender conventions and stereotypes to tell its story.

Tracy Press asks the tough questions.

The advantages of conversion in politics versus non-conversion.

Catholics in Utah before the Mormons…what!

Mormon.org is where its at when it comes to conversion.

Auditions for the Choir…the ONLY CHOIR!

Fast Food Nation author disappointed in Utah.

Mountain Meadows lot OPEN for new development!

Romney ain’t no puppet!

Fired Mormon lawyer didn’t appreciate bawdy, locker-room talk.

“I discovered how empowered women in early Mormonism were — to heal, speak and make decisions.”

Mormon history dominates Utah history.

Better than Fema!

MORMONISM, FEMINISM AND ACTIVISM: My head will explode!

LDS scholar Richard Lyman Bushman will start a Mormon studies program at the Claremont Graduate School in California.

Three part series about fundamentalism in Southern Utah.

The term “Mormon” is commonly used in reference to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, “Mormon” can more broadly describe a variety of groups derived from the church founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1830, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

The largest of these groups is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - at more than 13 million members - followed by the Community of Christ, formerly The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - at more than 250,000 members - and a variety of fundamentalist groups - with about 20,000 adherents collectively - according to www.lds.org, www.cofchrist.org and Marianne Watson, a self-employed historian and Lehi resident who specializes in fundamentalist topics.

There are about 30 groups, as well as large, independent families, practicing plural marriage under the banner of Mormonism, Watson said.

on saturday, I came across these two stories:

1. The use of the word vajayjay to describe vagina or vulva. Ever since it was uttered on Grey’s Anatomy back in 2006, it has been getting more and more popular. This is mostly because Oprah thinks it sounds like a “nice word.” Yeah.
2. Elizabeth Wurtzel goes to law school and we care enough to write a whole article about it because….?!?!?! I think its cool and all that shes starting a new chapter of her career but I’m failing to see how this warrants a NYTimes article. Her book More Now Again did really move me when I read it after attempting to read Bitch. And I certainly did like it more than Prozac Nation. Whether she likes it or not, she is one of the leading founders of the confessional chick lit movement in literature/memoir. With that, it would be intriguing to see if she does decided to write about the law school experince as a returning student at age forty. Now that would have been a worthy article.

1. Whenever I sign onto amazon, there is a recommendation for the OJ Simpson book, If I did it. Ummm why? I clicked on “why this was recommended for you” button and it said because I had bought two books about polygamy…yeah…failing to see the connections beyond on an assumption of polygamy equaling abused wives.
2. Sweetest Day: OK this hallmark holiday is all about chocolate. Why am I concerned with this? It seems as though only people in my home state in the Midwest seem to celebrate it. I never got the point of it as it seems like a watered down version of Valentine’s Day. As wikipedia states, “Sweetest Day is an observance celebrated primarily in the Great Lakes region and parts of the Northeast United States on the third Saturday in October^[1]. It is described by Retail Confectioners International, as “much more important for candymakers in some regions than in others (Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo being the biggest Sweetest Day cities)” It never seemed to catch on in NYC.
3. Andy Cooper over there at CNN is sick of the planet being in peril because he’s bored of it. Poor Andy.

I am a Democrat because I am a Mormon.

Six hundred images of child pornography or what one Tabernacle Choir member does for fun!

Jesus + America = what makes Mormons different.

Mormons and Amish evading American laws.

Of marriage and massacre: He’ll go home to Utah, go to college, find a career and a girl to marry.

Mormon and South Carolina don’t mix.

Poor Mormon boyz!

Using Mormons for their genealogical services.

Romney! Romney! Romney!

Link of the week:

Just as Day did for Catholics, Van Wagenen would like to awaken Mormons to the “virtually forgotten radical elements” of their doctrine and history - namely, the mandate to “have no poor among you.”
To that end, the 29-year-old Salt Lake City stockbroker and several friends have just published the first edition of The Mormon Worker, a bimonthly newspaper devoted to “promoting Mormonism, anarchism and pacifism.”

Sue over in Modesto had this to say about caffeine:

Let’s get real. If Mormons weren’t allowed to consume caffeine, then we wouldn’t be able to eat chocolate, and I don’t know many Mormons who don’t do that. So let’s get this misconception straightened out. Mormons can, and do, consume caffeine; whether they refrain from drinking caffeinated soft drinks is strictly a personal preference. (via)

What do Utahns Google? (Quick say ‘utahns’ real fast five times)

SEX: Utah and Salt Lake City are both No. 1 in the nation among states and cities for: “boobs,” “naked,” “nude,” “nudity,” “pornography,” “strip poker” and “striptease.”

Separately, Utah is No. 1 also for “blonde,” “brunette,” “lingerie” and “naked girls.” It is No. 2 for “redhead”; No. 3 for “hot sex”; and No. 4 for “barely legal.”

Hinkley is going to name a new president…!!!

We are Christians.

Why Harry Reid is cool: “the worst foreign policy blunder in our country’s history” = Iraq war

A day in the life of a missionary! (Mormon missionary that is)