Do you live like there's no tomorrow? Are you gone? Real gone? Do you have a large galaxy of friends? Do they wear goatees? Well, then - you might be a beatnik.
If you remain in any doubt, just fill out the handy questionnaire at the link, and the results will be analyzed to determine if in fact you are a beatnik. Most people only come down with a case of beatnikism as young adults - fortunately, once you've had it, there's very little chance of you getting it again. Also please be aware that, should your test results come back positive, your road to recovery can be assisted by many services offered by the community. Such as gainful employment.
This one is just for us film snobs - but for us, it's incredibly exciting news - we've just recovered a significant, previously lost portion of Metropolis. GreenCine has the details.
Geez, I leave the internet for a week or so, and all sorts of stuff happens. After I finally caught up on my feeds, these things seemed worth mentioning:
The Indiegrrl conference will have speakers, workshops, networking opportunities for independent women artists.
I just caught up on podcasts, too, and although this is a couple of weeks' old, Jumping Monkeys talked to Girl Scouts' tech director about their new digital campaign for girls.
There's probably more. I'll have some much-needed down time in the next couple of days to catch up.
Thanks to everyone for all the good wishes. While my mother's medical situation is ongoing, it's going as well as it can be, and so I'm slowly getting back into a routine. All I can say is, despite the extra stress and busy-ness and driving back and forth over half the state of Ohio, I'm lucky enough to have one tough lady of a mother, another inspiring young woman of a sister, a healthy and happy immediate family, and an amazing network of both online and offline friends.
I don't know how regular blogging will be for a couple of weeks, but I'll be jumping in again here and there. I'll also be back blogging as usual at Skepchick starting Wednesday.
I'm putting the blog on hold for the time being. My mother is hospitalized with a serious condition, and that's where my energy is going right now. Hope everyone hangs around until I can make it back.
There are a ton of great movies I haven't seen, and, of course, as a self-styled cineaste, that drives me crazy. So, I've decided to work my way through the They Shoot Pictures, Don't They master list of the best 1000 movies ever.
The Nerd Girls may not look like your stereotypical pocket-protector-loving misfits—their adviser, Karen Panetta, has a thing for pink heels—but they're part of a growing breed of young women who are claiming the nerd label for themselves. In doing so, they're challenging the notion of what a geek should look like, either by intentionally sexing up their tech personas, or by simply finding no disconnect between their geeky pursuits and more traditionally girly interests such as fashion, makeup and high heels.
"It's definitely the 'A' list, and I wouldn't ever associate J.K. Rowling with the people on that list," says senior Andy Vaz. "From the moment we walk through the gates of Harvard Yard, they constantly emphasize that we are the leaders of tomorrow. They should have picked a leader to speak at commencement. Not a children's writer. What does that say to the class of 2008? Are we the joke class?"
Sure, makes sense. Except for the fact that J.K. Rowling, a former single mother who didn't have the privilege of a Harvard education, used little more than her own wits to build a media empire and can now buy and sell your 22-year-old ass ten times over because she's one of the richest women in the world. Maybe you don't feel you can look to her as a leader. But surprise - the world has more types of people in it than male Harvard grads. To less-privileged women in particular, Rowling's example is a powerful one, and the fact she was invited to give Harvard's commencement speech sends a message beyond campus boundaries - it says that women like her can not only be honored, but their opinions can be listened to. Dismissing her accomplishments, and claiming that being addressed by her is beneath you, is showing a profound and embarrassing ignorance about the realities of modern life and society.
Thus Spake Zuska did an awesome job of this month's Scientae carnival on added weight and taking up space. Stop on by and hear what the lovely ladies of science, technology, engineering and math have to say.
Not only is it a cause I'm behind one hundred percent, but The Girl Effect is also a beautifully-designed campaign with plenty of easily-shared links and media. Well done.
I've been complaining about the forthcoming remake of 1939's The Women for quite some time, even before it was given a definite release date. That's some dedicated whining. And now that the remake isscheduled to be unleashed upon us this September, I can take my whining to a whole new wonderful level.
The BUST blog points out this pretty rad collection of punk photography from Jenny Lens called Punk Pioneers. Best part is that it pays good attention to the women of punk, who sometimes get lost in the shuffle of punk history.
I love Tilda Swinton for many reasons, and the fact that she just founded a film festival that charges baked goods as admission and asks guests to sit on beanbags during the films is just one more reason to add to the list.
Retro Wall-E Prints - I missed a small chunk of this movie due to a certain toddler jumping from seat to seat, but what I saw was magnificent.
Jane Austen and Boredom - Just to clarify, this is a paper about boredom in the works of Austen, not possible boredom caused by Austen's novels. Also to clarify, I am not bored by Austen in the slightest, but I would like to distance myself from the type of Austen fan that generally sees no farther than Colin Firth.
Jello Biafra and the politics of punk: "But that [his anarchic stance] doesn’t automatically mean that I'm filled with naïve hope for our future ... I figure every available tool should be used relentlessly to fight the powers that be."
100 Movies in 100 Days - I've definitely added a few more cult films to my must-see list after reading through this. (Thanks to Coudal.)
Graphic Leftovers - a site for reselling unused logos and graphics. Looks to be handy.
Dial S&M for Marnie. Lauren Wissot unpacks the Hitchcock thriller as a piece of erotic art. She has this dead on. Marnie has always been one of my favorites.
Why Graphic Designers Don't Get Tattoos. Except for the ones that do. I'm only partially a "graphic designer," but I do admit I'm particular about my body modifications when it comes to things like symmetry and that. Designer instinct or mild OCD? You decide.
Us MSTies mourned last week for John Phillip Law. If you don't remember him from Space Mutiny or Danger: Diabolik, maybe Barbarella will do the trick.
"Thousands of discarded computers from western Europe and the US arrive in the ports of west Africa every day, ending up in massive toxic dumps where children burn and pull them apart to extract metals for cash." Make sure to find computer recyclers you can trust.
