TV | Stowaway Travel Writing & Editorial Services

Food for Thought

Not a proper GBS, but here are a couple neat things I’ve found on the Internets lately:

Two easy-to-read infographics on why health care in the US costs more than any other developed nation. I think my favorite part is the angel halos around the “Truth!” bullets in that second one, and also the fact that they say outright that lack of regulation is what allows providers and insurance to charge more here than they would be able to in countries that keep that kind of thing in check.

The ever-brilliant Rebecca Traister has been watching and commenting on the last week of Oprah’s network talk show. This article is a great reminder of why Oprah matters so much — she started out with just about nothing and now is one of the most powerful women in the country. (Funny how she’s not often held up as the example of the American Dream by politicians and media pundits. I’m sure her gender and race have nothing to do with that.) Her departure will remind Americans of just how white and male the rest of the media landscape is, and what a loss that is for all of us.

Personal Notes

Also, thanks to all who have made suggestions for where the twins and I should vacation this fall! We’ve never had a sisters-only vacation before and we’re pretty psyched. I’ll keep you updated on what we choose.

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, who is inviting me to their Memorial Day BBQ this Monday?? It promises to be a hot and sunny day, and I promise to bring tasty beverages. Let’s do it.

I’m off work today and on a library computer (damn AT&T is taking forever to set up at my house), so it’s a short one this week. Feel free to post more in the comments!

The Good:

Kartina Richardson, a great film critic, uses Boardwalk Empire as a great example of how to tackle race in historical art. Mad Men, you’ve run out of excuses. (Ms. Richardson blogs at http://mirrorfilm.org.)

A California judge imposed a ban on “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

The Bad:

Oh but Obama didn’t mean it, apparently, when he said he was for ending “don’t ask, don’t tell,” because he’s ok with the Justice Department challenging Judge Philips’ ban.

Glenn Greenwald, bless ‘im, takes on Andrew Sullivan’s absurd defense of widespread, secret, and presidentially approved assassinations. Do people really want to live on the show 24? (Via.)

And of course there has been a lot in the past few weeks about this sudden increase in children and teens committing suicide after being bullied, specifically being bullied for being gay or being perceived as gay. I don’t know that it’s an actual increase so much as people are paying a little more attention, but regardless, we need to be paying attention. We need to have strong anti-bullying policies that actually get enacted. We need to reject this BS notion that teachers can have a “neutral” stance on whether kids can torment one another — there is no neutral stance when kids are in danger. We need to stop teaching kids that hate is ok.

The Silly

Sessily sent me the link to this great flowchart of female tropes in movies/TV. Tell me someone who doesn’t fit on here!