Just a tad bit too late to make it into the column, two news stories today: HarperCollins has a new erotica imprint, Mischief, and the Wall Street Journal has another gasping-for-the-shock-of-it story about what women read on their Kindles (oooh, scandal!). All this frothing shows the ultimate futility of the attempts to stuff women back…
Category: women
Women’s Day, Con-Eire & BitchBuzz
Happy International Women’s Day! A day to celebrate and a day to chastise because there’s a long way to go yet and I’m getting more than a little impatient at fighting the same battles I have fought since childhood. There has been progress, I remind myself, but there’s a long way to go until NO…
AudioBoo: Moths
One touch easy recording, that’s what an Audio Boo claims to be. So I had to try it out on my new shiny toy. This is a poem that’s supposed to be appearing in a magazine at some point but that was about a year ago that they said so, thus I wonder if it…
BitchBuzz: The Digital Revolution Will be Gendered
I should start this post with a shout out to the fabulous Maura McHugh, a new friend who shared a fabulous, nigh on four hour lunch with me on Tuesday. Obviously we found a lot to talk about. Those of you who tend to think of me as taciturn would have been surprised. Of course…
Tuesday’s Overlooked Films: The Long Kiss Goodnight
I got into a discussion on Twitter with Anne Billson about Finnish music and films, and we both lamented the lack of love in Hollywood for Renny Harlin when people like Ridley Scott continue to be trumpeted. I suppose I have a weakness for a Finnish director who always manages a little nod to his…
Know-vember: Byron Ballard
Yes, it’s your Village Witch, the Appalachian wise woman, Ms Ballard. We first met at the witchcraft conference at Harvard and managed to keep up with one another ever since. I’m hoping Byron will be able to manage a trip over here while I’m in Ireland. Should be wonderful to have her in the land…
Mary of Nijmeghen
Mary — or Mariken van Nieumeghen as it is in the original — is a play that shows up in the early sixteenth century. My students read it this week and (among other things) we talked about how one might adapt it to a modern movie and came up with a really good plan. They’re…
Authors After Dark
There’s a wonderful exchange near the beginning of Clare Boothe Luce’s The Women (1939) that I’ve always enjoyed although it kind of stabs me in the heart, too. If you don’t know this film, you need to see it at once: Edith Potter: Weren’t you going to Africa to shoot, Nancy? Nancy Blake: As soon as my…
Rationalizing
I am back to columnizing while I panic about the big move. Reminding myself: break it down, do it little by little, stop looking at the enormity of it all! Applies to both subjects, I suppose. Sigh. Atheists, Rationalists & Rape By K. A. Laity The “rational answer” depends entirely upon your starting point. While…
Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: Cat People
Simone Simon stars in the Tourneur/Lewton frightfest Cat People from 1942. I’m teaching this today along with a first toe-dipping into Freudian theory. Old Siggy had a lot of hang-ups from his time and misapprehensions about human nature (as opposed to its particular manifestation during his particular and odd time) but there were enough astute…