Philobiblon

Working on the final century of a collection of 500 female bloggers. Where are they? HERE!

(Apologies for missing an edition last week – the over-commitment to various projects got a little out of control. And yes I am a day late this week; will do better!)

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First, the post of the week, from Stella on Where the Cornflakes Are. It is an account of her visit to the gynaecologist. Stella uses a wheelchair. So how is that relevant to the gyno? Well you wouldn’t think it was.

But a close runner-up is from The Perorations of Lady Bracknell. The post is setting out her very firm views on grammar. “Should an individual say that he is “feeling down”, he should be aware that what he is actually saying is that he is currently enjoying a somewhat intimate relationship with a duck.”

And for a nuanced, sophisticated view of the still-raging cartoon controversy, on Nzingha’s Soapbox of the moral dilemma in buying butter to bake cookies.

Inevitably there have been quite a few Valentine’s Day posts this week. (Call me unromantic – because I am – but I’ve never got it: what is the point, except to sell lots of ridiculous expensive pieces of cardboard?)

A few women bloggers might be joining me in that view:
* On Turtle’s Page of Joy that “what are you doing?” phone call turns awkward.
* Foto Fox on I am, Therefore I Date, doesn’t believe the ‘why I didn’t call” story
* The Trail Guide on The Organ Trail, meanwhile, has another reason to call it V-day, although she’s got some thoughts on the traditional celebration as well.

But lest I be accused of being a total cynic, I guess I’d better bring you one “good” V-day story, even if one from the past: On Testing the Cultural Divide, an account of “How a Red Commie hooked up with a True-Blue American”.

In the “people abroad” category, Miss Prism, a Scot in the United States, might surprise local readers by finding good things to say about the American education system. (Well at least the higher education sector.) Have to agree with her, as someone who went to university to study science when I definitely should have been in the humanities. Had I started out with a bit of each, it would have been a lot easier to switch.

On Fumbling Towards Geekdom, meanwhile, StyleyGeek is wondering if anyone is actually born in the Australian town where she is now living, giving the stock set of “meet and greet” questions. (I reckon I could narrow it to at least a state, having spent some time in various Australian backblocks, but given the interests of pseudonymousness, I won’t.)

Then, finally, the writer’s/blogger’s dilemma. A Wandering Woman on People Become Stories muses on how how to define work if you are an artist.

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You can find the last edition of Femmes Fatales here.

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Nominations (including self-nominations) for Femmes Fatales are also hugely welcome – I’ll probably get to you eventually anyway, but why not hurry along the process?

Working on the final century of a collection of 500 female bloggers. Where are they? HERE!

On The Feminist Spectator, Jill Dolan looks at the position
of the critic, particularly in theatre, and particularly community-based
theatre. As a critic myself (on My London Your London and alsewhere,
I’ve wrestled with similar questions. I’ve never written a real slam review,
but guess I’ll have to one day.

Also on the artistic side, on The Hathor Project, BetaCandy wonders is romance really for guys. If men and women are watching the same TV show, are they seeing the same show?

Then for something really different, a collection of amazing pictures can be found on Decksitter’s Photoblog. You’ll have to really look at this. Or perhpas you’d like this, Friday cat blogging with a difference from Alison Ashwell, a children’s illustrator.

On The Accidental Hedonist, an explanation of the case against Coca-Cola. Although I doubt any other soft drink is much better; guess I’m lucky that I’ve never liked the stuff – makes me feel like my stomach is a balloon. Then, and yes the linkage is intentional, a reminder from Meryl’s Notes that heart attacks are the No 1 killer of women in the US (and I’d suspect most of the Western world).

Turning to traditional politics, on BlogAmy a “blood-boiling review of the US State of the Union Address. Amy on Shameless Agitator couldn’t bear to watch.

Turning personal, Mz Smarty Pants reflects on the realities of dating in your late-40s to 50s. “If my sweetie and I ever break up again, I will become a Buddha priest or something,” she says.

After that it must be time for a bit of light relief. On You Knit What, punk rock knitter wonders what one designer was thinking.

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You can find the last edition of Femmes Fatales here.

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Nominations (including self-nominations) for Femmes Fatales are also hugely welcome – I’ll probably get to you eventually anyway, but why not hurry along the process?

Working on the final century of a collection of 500 female bloggers. Where are they? HERE!

I begin with a delightful post – if you only read one read this one – Heo Cwaeth debunks the arguments of anti-feminists. A sample: “If we assume that fatness causes feminism, then it reasonably follows that Rush Limbaugh and Jerry Falwell are feminists.” Read it, but don’t ask me how to pronounce the name – my Anglo-Saxon isn’t up to the task.

On the party politics side, on Writes Like She Talks, Jill Miller Zimon meets the Ohio Democratic Party Chairman, Chris Redfern.

Then, I probably should seek out more women who blog about computer technology (any thoughts?), but to start, here are Wendy Seltzer’s reflections on spyware.

Combining a site review (Ancestry.com) with a reflection on family history, Kristie Wells on Kiki’s Korner is tracing her family tree.

Turning to the arts side, a review of Memoirs of a Geisha in the form of a poem. Mmm? I hear you say. No really; go and read it. Flextime’s take on the film really sums it up. Beth Gottfried on Blogcritics, meanwhile, is looking forward to new movie called Brick.

And another review, of Frosted Flakes and similar high sugar cereals and their advertising campaigns. Isabel Walcott Hilborn says: “The addictive quality of sugar is a topic not adequately explored in medical studies and popular culture.”

Turning on the personal side, Southern Bird reflects on her first year in Manchester, Joanne D. Kiggins while offers a peek out her window. There are deer, wild turkeys and more.

Then on Jenn’s Journal, a painful, personal reflection on the pain of miscarriage.

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You can find the last edition of Femmes Fatales here.

****
Nominations (including self-nominations) for Femmes Fatales are also hugely welcome – I’ll probably get to you eventually anyway, but why not hurry along the process?

Starting on the final century of a collection of 500 female bloggers. Where are they? HERE!

Dr Crazy on Reassigned Time explores the reasons why she finds it hard to praise herself. Which reminds me of something I’ve noted in seeking new FF each week – when looking down someone’s blog-roll, aside from the gender-obvious names, I also look for the self-deprecating names; they are overwhelmingly women’s blogs.

Andrea on Vociferate, meanwhile, wonders what is to be done about women who betray their sex for an easier life? But for Molly on Molly Saves the Day, hell has frozen over, for Concerned Women of America are agreeing with her – at least in conclusions, if not reasoning, about sexy lingerie marketed at girls. Modest and raunch are just two sides of the same coin, she says.

More cheerfully, City Girl sets out one aspect of Philadelphia life that she loves – fliers. The Fabulous Miss Rose, writing on The Girl in Black, has another love – National Public Radio. “There aren’t any adjectives describing how “horrible” or “wonderful” something is.” And tr1c14 on Woman in Comfy Shoes has found that her grandma’s town in Kansas isn’t nearly so bad as she thought.

On Ancarett’s Abode, a mum attends her first pop-rock concert since giving birth to the child she escorted to this concert. Nothing much has changed. Another mum, TW on Wee Hours, says don’t go to see Hoodwinked – “Hits like a girl should never be an insult.”

Also in the “that takes me back” category, JoAnne on Cosmic Variance assembles various graduate student recipes. Which reminds me I haven’t seen a picture of one of my equivalent brews – an enormous pot of hopeless overcooked pasta that had turned, for some reason, a really odd shade of pink. Cooking one thing and eating it for a week was my standard behaviour then …

Finally, Joan on Mamcita – don’t miss her wonderful logo – takes us into bigger, and smaller, waters, with a ever slightly tongue-in-cheek account of thefounding of the League of Micro-Nations. Remember The Marshall Islands, nuclear test site, will be ready to host visitors in 27,560 A.D.

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You can find the last edition of Femmes Fatales here.

****
Nominations (including self-nominations) for Femmes Fatales are also hugely welcome – I’ll probably get to you eventually anyway, but why not hurry along the process?

… running a day late today, sorry. But whoo-hoo! Four hundred female bloggers.

One Tenacious Baby Mama discusses her development of a birthing plan. (WARNING: There’s nothing prurient about this blog, but the whole design may be too much for conservative workplaces.) Yes, I tend to put “politics” at the top, but this is definitely a political statement.

Turning more traditionally political, on the Progressive Society Blog, a roundup of the state of the American polity. “The only people who can say they are better off today than they were when Clinton left office are all of the rich bastards making billions off of Dickie’s tax breaks.”

Then Robin Herman on The Girl in the Locker Room! offers details on one more reason why American women should be very concerned about Alito.

Green LA Girl is meanwhile, running a a campaign to get Starbucks to live up to its “Fair Trade” promises.

Janine’s blog reviews a TV programme that asks Is religion the root of all evil?

Agent Fang, on Fangworld, meanwhile, has to creatively navigate the hazards of a hospital, which you would think would be wheelchair-friendly. But do you suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia? Do find out the diagnosis.

Switching professions, on Living Life, a reflection on the pains and pleasures of teaching English.

Then for something different Clea’s Cave has a 1921 postcard that tells a whole story on its own.

Staying historical, on the beautifully named Every Woman is a Goddess, Dana reflects on the mixed history of the typewriter for women.

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You can find the last edition of Femmes Fatales here.

****
Nominations (including self-nominations) for Femmes Fatales are also hugely welcome – I’ll probably get to you eventually anyway, but why not hurry along the process?

Ten new (to me) female bloggers, ten top posts, on my way to 400. It answers the question: where are all the female bloggers?

First, a cry from the heart. 2MahoganySoul tells of visiting a friend in jail. “I was cool all the way until I got off the elevator and entered the room for visitation. It was so GHETTO.” Taste a little of the reality behind the criminal “justice” statistics in the US.

Then, something for Australians to worry about on Angry Penguin, subtitled “a journalist ruminates” there’s the news that the new Packer family head is a Scientologist. Evil Mommy, meanwhile, sums up the current state of George Bush’s conscience, or at least what it should be.

Continuing this quick spin around the world, Elvira on Blogcritics finds Yeats speaks to the state of the world today, particularly in Israel, while on She Says, “Never Just an Ordinary Girl” wrestles with the realities of English grammar on the sub-continent.

On Adventures in Ethics and Science, Dr Free-Ride discusses the problem of cheating in university exams “What I find most offensive about cheating in my courses is that it is an attempt to appear as if one cares about the material that reveals the absence of actual effort to learn the material,” she says.

On the semi-personal side – and a great idea to copy if you’re stuck for a posting topic – on A Box for of Letters, a list of things you’d rather not see.

Diana Crabtree finds there’s one thing you can’t forget, even in a clothing-optional bar.

Then finally, if Christmas really got you down this year, Julie on No Fancy Name has the perfect festive season strategy – spending it with someone else’s family. Works for me! Or better still, read this Christmas nativity tale by Keli on Webwabbiting. (Not for easily offended Christians or those without a sense of humour.)

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You can find the last edition of Femmes Fatales here.

****
Nominations (including self-nominations) for Femmes Fatales are also hugely welcome – I’ll probably get to you eventually anyway, but why not hurry along the process?