I've been trying for awhile to change the focus of this blog, and now that I've got both time and motivation to do that, I've decided that LJ doesn't really suit me anymore. My new blog, "Marginally Yours" is here: marginallyyours.blogspot.com. I hope you'll read and comment.

and I've officially given up thinking I'm going to sleep any more than the 3.5 hours I already have. I wasn't supposed to get up untill 7:30, but I've been awake since 4 and can't deal with lying in bed staring at the ceiling any longer. My stomach is all topsy-turvy. I'm not scared, really; it's just nervous energy. Everyone cross your fingers that I can run on adrenaline (and possibly caffeine) until 5pm when we leave the reception for the honeymoon. Speaking of, my mom gave me the digital camera I wanted as a wedding gift, so I'll try to post pics of the honeymoon and maybe some wedding stuff when we get back. We're spending five days in NYC. I'm very excited. I'll talk to you all soon!

Some students in a colleague's class are interested in citing my thesis for their essays on Twelfth Night and She's the Man. It's below the cut( Read more... )

Hi all. Sorry I've been away from eljay so much lately. As most of you know, I've been busy planning my wedding (that's in SIX weeks--eek!) and going through the painful PhD apps process for the second time. I still have four schools I haven't heard from, but I got my first acceptance today, from Florida State. Just wanted to share :)

Comment and let me know what you've been up to!

Hey guys. Thanks for your participation in my poll. Since you all helped so much, I thought you may like to see the final paper.( Read more... )

Answer both questions. Women only, please. I certainly understand that men can be and are feminists, it's just that my paper focuses exclusively on women.Poll #1322380 Evangelicals and Feminists
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5

Do you consider yourself an Evangelical Christian?

Do you consider yourself a Feminist?

Hi, all! I hope you are having a happy holiday season. I'm working on a paper for a conference in February. The conference is on Evangelicalism in America, and my paper hypothesizes that the new "Modesty Movement" heralded by Wendy Shalit in such books as A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue (1999), Girls Gone Mild: Young Women Reclaim Self-Respect and Find It's Not Bad to be Good (2007), and The Good Girl Revolution: Young Rebels with Self-Esteem and High Standards (2008) is common ground for discussion between Evangelical Christians and young Feminists. I need to discuss why those two groups have historically considered themselves at cross purposes, and to do that, I'm conducting an informal poll. I would ask that this be limited to women only, as that's who my paper focuses on, and that everyone answer both questions. You can also elaborate in the comments if you'd like, though that's not required. Thanks in advanced for your help, everyone.

 I passed my thesis defense! Yay! Also, i got to have time with my girls today, and Jensen Ackles got naked on Supernatural. Thanks, CW.

 It is just past 4am. I am awake. That is not okay. I'm also pretty stoned on cold meds, since the universe seems to have deemed it appropriate for me to get the worst cold ever less than two days from my thesis defense. I'm just praying that I don't totally lose my voice.
Anyway, since I'm awake, I wanted to share this article from the most recent issue of Bitch Magazine (a feminist mag that chiefly covers issues of pop culture, for those of you who are unfamiliar). It's about the difficulties of being taken seriously as a female writer, so I thought some of you on my flist would be interested.

bitchmagazine.org/article/the-ambition-condition

I'm going to try and go to bed again. Love (but no kisses because I am gross) to you all.

Hi everyone! I know I've been away for a very long time, but school and wedding planning have consumed any free time I may have had. Now that I have some time to devote to blogging again, I want to make an effort to use this space to share things I'm writing, reading, and studying. There will, I'm sure, from time to time, be some of the silliness you're used to on this blog, but I am trying to give it more of an academic slant (haha) of late. Feel free to unfriend if you're not interested. I won't be offended. Since my Master's thesis is my most recent project, I thought I'd post the introduction and first chapter here to start off with. I'll Post more if people are interested. In the meantime, comment and tell me what's going on in your lives.

 

( Feminism and Celebrity Culture in Shakesteen Film: An Introduction )</p></div>

I have a new crush. I am now in love with singer/songwriter Nellie McKay. Not only is she totally BFF with Laurie Anderson, Cyndi Lauper, and other badass women I love, she also sings songs like "Mother of Pearl," which you can find here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU446HDtGv8&eurl=http://www.feministing.com/archives/009834.html

Lyrics:

Feminists don't have a sense of humor
Feminists just want to be alone (boo-hoo)
Feminists spread vicious lies and rumor
They have a tumor on their funny bone

They say child molestation isn't funny
Rape and degradation's just a crime (lighten up, ladies)
Rampant prostitution, sex for money (what's wrong with that)
Can't these chicks do anything but whine

Dance break
Woo-hoo
(Take it off)

They say cheap objectification isn't witty, it's hot
Equal work and wages worth the fight (sing us a new one)
On demand abortion, every city (okay, but no gun control)
Won't these women ever get a life

Feminists don't have a sense of humor (poor Hilary)
Feminists and vegetarians
Feminists spread vicious lies and rumor
They're far too sensitive to ever be a ham
That's why these feminists just need to find a man

I'm Dennis Kucinich, and I approve this message

---------

LOLZ. I want all of her records right now. RIGHT NOW.

I just got off the phone with my grandmother, who spent most of the conversation talking to me as if I were my mother and calling my fiancee my father's name. I realize that she's almost eighty, and people tend to start confusing stuff when they're that age. Rationally, I know this. That doesn't make it any easier to deal with emotionally. I just keep thinking that there's no way she's going to make it to see me get married, and that hurts more than I know what to do with. I love my grandmother, but most of the time, she drives me fucking crazy. She expects me to still be the sweet, pure little girl I used to be, and any time I express a change in ideology or action, she closes off. I know that some of that is generational and that I should probably cut her some slack, but mostly it makes me feel like a disappointment and a failure and I hate that. Despite it all, her not being at my wedding seems unthinkable.

Maybe it's not about her at all. Anthony Rapp tells a story in his memoirs about being at lunch with an ex-boyfriend of his while trying to deal with a mutual friend's death. When Anthony asks his ex how to deal with the grief, he responds by reminding Anthony that mourning is two-fold: you mourn the loss of the person you loved, sure, but you also mourn the loss of that person's vision of who you are, because that facet of you cannot exist without them. That explanation struck a chord with me the first time I read it, and it seems closer and scarier to me now. I'll certainly miss my grandmother when she finally passes away. She's always supported and encouraged me, even as she makes me angry. I think what I'll miss more, though, is the vision of myself as innocent and optimistic. I'm feeling jaded and overwhelmed by life more and more these days, and though that's probably just part of the natural process of aging and growth, sometimes I wish I could still be the sunny little girl I am in my grandmother's mind.

More on this later when I'm not crying in public, guys. Love to you all.

Just to update everyone out there in eljay land:

M asked me to marry him last night! And I said yes, of course.

We'd been talking about it for awhile, so it wasn't too shocking, but I'm still completely excited and jumping all over the place. I will post pics of the ring as soon as I can get my hands on a  decent digital camera, and I'll recount the details of the proposal when my brain is organized again. Right now I am a puddle of incoherent squee. Just wanted to tell everyone.  Love to you all.

THESIS IS EVIL. I NEED TO SLEEP. BUT I CAN'T.  GAH.

Less than 24 hours and this will all be over. I can do this. I can.

Also, apparently Zac and Kate had their baby? I'm such an h.net stranger these days. I really need to stop paying the forty bucks a year for that shit. Or not really, 'cause I totally renewed, like 3 days ago. Whatevs. I live in fear that my subscription will lapse, and then they'll give  away something super awesome, like the chance to ban "Can't Stop" from all shows for the rest of time. God, I hate that song.

One last thing:  John Ira Shepherd Hanson? For reals? The boys are damn fine musicians and pretty easy on the eyes, but apparently they didn't get that memo about being obligated to name your kid something that won't cause them to get their ass kicked. Shepherd, Everett, River, and Ezra. Sounds like a band of grizzled cowboys, doesn't it?  Man, lack of sleep really makes me bitchy.

Seriously, congrats to the new family. I'm going to sleep now before I kick a puppy or something.

Hey guys. I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. A few updates:

• I got through this semester's classes with mind and GPA intact :)

• I should have completed copies of my thesis in my committee members' mailboxes by Thursday, and I defend the following Thursday. I will then, for all intents and purposes, HAVE A MASTER'S DEGREE.
• I have one job lined up for Fall, and prospects on a second one look good, so I will not be starving to death. This is exciting news.

• M and I have begun the Summer of Hamlet. We're in the middle of Act III right now, and it's lots of fun so far. I'm going to start blogging about it as a guest on M's blog as soon as I can think about something other than being eaten by my thesis. You can find his blog at. In the same vein, we're going to see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern with my dear friend Beth (Hi, Beth!) next week. That should be fun.

• Everyone should check out Kate Voegele's album, Don't Look Away. I'm super into it right now. So far, I really love "Might Have Been." Some of the lyrics are as follows:

I present to you all proof that I've found the perfect guy for me:

http://ladderonwheels.blogspot.com/

The link takes you to M's blog, where he details our plans for the summer: jointly making our way through various permutations of Hamlet.   I'm super excited about this, guys.

Got my fifth and final rejection letter today. I know none of this is personal, but it still stings. I spent the evening at M's cuddling and eating junk food (he wrote me another adorable song omgyay!), so I feel better, but this SUCKS SO HARD. Now I have to find an apartment and a job and do the whole damn application process over again and I hate it. I know logically that everything happens for a reason and that a year break from school will probably save me from burning out and I'll get to be with M longer. Also, several friends got rejected from everywhere too so it's not like I"m just an idiot. All that said, I'm still really sad.

Tagged by silveripseity.
Seven weird things about me:

1. I hate feet. Mine. Other people's. Feet are gross. Yes, even Taylor Hanson's feet. Perhaps especially those. You guys have seen the pictures, right?

2. I cry at the craziest things. Not at normal stuff like weddings or funerals, but at lame stuff like that Campbell's soup commercial with the adopted kid.

3. Ocassionally, I have two-sided conversations with myself.

4. I'm convinced I'm the only person alive under the age of 65 (except my boyfriend) who thinks that brussels sprouts are yummy.

5. Sometimes I narrrate my life in my head.

6. I'm convinced stiletto heels are torture devices invented by the patriarchy. Seriously.

7.If the rumor is true and Hanson and SK6ers tour together, odds are steep that I will actually die of fangirl glee. So that's not terribly weird, but it is true. Anyone heard more about this rumor?

Hi everyone.
Sorry for being such an eljay stranger. My life has been such a whirlwind the past few weeks. I'm teaching a new class of kids that are really great, and I finally get to teach literature, which is fabulous. I'm insanely busy writing the thesis. Chapter one is done, and chapter two is due at the end of the week. I think I may actually graduate on time without harming myself or others. That is an exciting prospect. No word yet from my PhD apps. You'll hear when I do.

Also, M and I have now been together a little over two months, and everything is wonderful. He's smart and funny and considerate and supportive, and I'm definitely in love for the first time. So last night was our first Valentine's Day. He brought me a bouquet of pink tulips, and we went out to dinner and then back to his place. We agreed not to to do real gifts. I got him a card and he got me a Ring Pop because of a prior discussion about candy we loved as kids. He even helped me put it on my hand. Was adorable. I've totally turned into one of those schmoopy, sentimental girls I always used to mock, and I totally don't even care.

I need to turn in now, guys. Comment and tell me about your lives as of late.