Ugh. 

I sort of already hate myself from weighing in on this but people keep asking me to tweet about it and forward their petitions, and I really thought it would quiet down by now but it hasn’t, so I’m going to give my big, fat, stupid, irrelevant and probably wrong opinion on the changes Disney made from the original I-might-trust-her-to-babysit-my-kid-when-she’s-a-little-older Merida to get-the-fuck-away-from-my-husband Merida.

There are all sorts of calls to action to get Disney to admit that the new Merida looks a bit skanky and they’ve met with some success and that’s awesome.  Go team.  I hope you succeed.  But (in my opinion – stop yelling at me) the majority of people do not give a shit.  Mostly because we’re busy personally teaching our kids what strong women look like instead of letting Disney do it for us.  And in a way, Disney did us a favor here.  Did you have a talk with your kid about the new Merida? Because if you didn’t you missed a good opportunity to see where your kid stands on this, and to talk to them about over-sexualization.

I showed the new Merida to my eight-year-old and she assumed that it was Merida’s evil twin.  Which actually would make an awesome story, and personally I plan to tell stray children I see buying backpacks with the new Merida on them that the original Merida was eaten by the new Evil Merida because she was so hungry.  And they will probably believe it because seriously, look at her waist…the girl needs a damn sandwich.

Anyway, my incredibly dumb and probably ill-informed point is that it’s really uncomfortable to see a strong, child-like character get tarted up and flash bedroom eyes at you, but it’s equally sucky to rely on a giant corporation to teach your kids what strong women look like.  Strong women look like Amelia Earhart, Rosie the Riveter, Asmaa Mahfouz, or Elizabeth Smart. Or Wonder Woman, or Sally Ride or Sojourner Truth, or Amy Poehler, or Ada Lovelace, or Anne Frank.  Or your grandmother.

Or you.

I support and admire the men and women who speak out in the cause of feminism, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that there are so many amazing women who may never end up on a lunch box (Wonder Woman and Word Girl excluded) but who can make a great difference in the life and perceptions of our sons and daughters.

Okay.  Your turn.  Who’s your favorite female hero?

PS.  There aren’t any right or wrong answers here.  It’s totally okay to like pretty dresses and sexy princesses.  It’s totally okay not to.  No judgment.  Probably.

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A series of texts I sent to Victor today:

me:  Hunter is acting insane.  He just put Ferris Mewler in a headlock.

You can't see it but I suspect he has a tiny switch-blade.

Victor:  They’re fine.  Ferris looks sleepy.

me:  I’m pretty sure he was blacking out from the lack of oxygen.

Victor:  You’re overreacting.

me: Then he stalked me all day.

"You do not see me."

Victor: I don’t see him.

me:  HE’S HIDING BEHIND THE COBRA.

Victor:  Oh yeah.  He’s adorable.

me:  He just set fire to your office.

Victor: Stop texting me.

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A friend of mine just told me that if you search for “giant dildo” on Amazon you get something very unexpected on the very first page of results.  So I tried it.  And she’s right.

I don’t even have the words, you guys.

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Happy whatever.

May 12, 2013

in Random crap

Today is Mother’s Day, and while I think that being a mom is a crazy-hard job it’s also one that most of us wouldn’t trade for the world, so it’s always been a bit odd to me that we get to be mothers and we also get a day to celebrate it.  Not that I’m judging you.  Celebrate the hell out of yourself.  You deserve it.

But you know who else deserves it?  The women who have struggled to be, or are still struggling to be moms.  The women who want children but just aren’t in a safe place in life to have them.  The women who don’t want kids and have to listen to a bunch of bullshit about how you’re only worthwhile if you’ve pushed a human out of your vagina.  The women who miss the children they once had.  The women who miss the children they lost before they ever met them.  The women who gave up their children so their child could have a better life than they could provide.  The women who were raised motherless, or with shitty mothers, or who have lost their mothers and are reminded of how alone they feel.  Mother’s Day is a confusing, weird, very-seldom-wrapped-up-with-a-nice-commercial-bow sort of day, and as for me, I salute you all – mothers or not…you’re here.  You’re alive.  You continue to survive.  You are worthwhile and wonderful.  Never forget that.

********

On a personal note, today I’ll be remembering the children I carried who never lived…and the one miracle who did.

PS.  This is technically a terrible picture.  The lighting is weird.  I’m not wearing make-up and the sun is too bright.  It was taken with a crappy cell phone.  But it’s one of my favorite pictures ever.  Why?  Because Hailey took it when she was playing around with my phone and she turned it around, put her arm around my neck to pull me in closer and then took the picture.  One day soon she’ll be too old to be want to take pictures with me, but I’ll keep this one safe until she survives the teenage years and comes back to love her mom like I adore mine.

I’m incredibly lucky for moments like this, and I hope that I never forget that.

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As many of you were watching, my auction for the “Possibly haunted robot that might eat you in your sleep” ended last night.  Shockingly 30+ people bid on it and it went for $75 more than I paid for it, which means that I’ll be sending my local no-kill shelter some cash because that’ll make me feel slightly less guilty when the guy who bought it has his face eaten off by a possibly-possessed broken robot during the night.

There were, however, some complications after the auction closed that caused it to be pulled off ebay forever.

Email from Ebay:

Date: May 11, 2013, 4:36:12 AM CDT
Subject: MC018 Listing policy violation alert:  (775046645)

MC018 Listing policy violation alert: (775046645)

You recently listed the following:
261210867986 – Possibly haunted robot might eat you in your sleep.

We removed these listings because you’ve had too many duplicate
auction-style listings that didn’t end in a sale. The items we removed
are duplicates of other auction-style listings that are currently active
on your eBay account.

And they’re right because do you know how many auctions I’ve completed for possibly haunted robots that might eat you in your sleep?  ALMOST ONE.  I say “almost” because the only one I’ve ever done was removed.  Seriously, it would be impossible have any less auctions for a one-of-a-kind (thank Christ) possibly demonic broken robot.

So Victor called Ebay and was like “What the shit, Ebay?” (I’m paraphrasing) And they said they’d made a horrible mistake and it was all good until they clarified that they were only mistaken about the exact ways in which I had violated the system.

Second letter from ebay:

Date: May 11, 2013, 8:49:26 AM CDT
Subject: MC018 Listing policy violation alert SR# 1-8650326259

You recently listed the following:
261210867986 – Possibly haunted robot might eat you in your sleep.
We removed this listing because it violates our policy under Undermining Trust in the Marketplace.
The listing page serves as the main source of information for buyers, helping them decide what to buy and what to expect when they get an item.  As such, the page should only be used to describe the item for sale and to professionally communicate seller terms.  Sellers can’t include negative statements or comments that undermine trust or confidence in the Marketplace.

The overall policy is intended to help sellers both set and meet buyer expectations in the Marketplace.  Some of the most basic things a seller can do is provide accurate and consistent details about the item and to be clear and specific about the terms and conditions of the sale.

In other words, “Stop being so creative, asshole.  People might actually think you have a cat-eating robot with children’s souls trapped in it.  Because people are stupid and we have to protect them from themselves.  Apparently.”  Or at least, that’s my interpretation.

Luckily, an awesome guy named Alex won before the auction was pulled and he’s already contacted me so everyone wins.  Except the soon-to-be-eaten-cats in Alex’s neighborhood.  Those cats are fucked.  Plus, I now have a brand new idea for a t-shirt.

Click to order on zazzle right now.

I plan on selling one on ebay.  Described accurately.  Under the title “Actively Undermining the Marketplace.”  Because I have problems and I can’t help myself.

I apologize in advance, ebay.

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