10 of my favorite movies that don't pass the Bechdel test

The Bechdel Test: The movie must have
1. Two women characters...
2. Who talk to each other...
3. About something other than a man.

Here we go:
1. Rushmore directed by Wes Anderson
Possibly my favorite movie. There are exactly 2 (named) women characters who never talk. The Royal Tennenbaums passes, Fantastic Mr. Fox & Darjeeling Limited fail.

2. Almost Famous written & directed by Cameron Crowe
A semi-autobiographical tale of the writer's adolescence following rock stars and writing for Rolling Stone. The "band-aids" talk to each other, about men.

3. Toy Story directed by John Lasseter
Andy's mom and Little Bo Peep are female, but they don't talk. Toy Story 3 passes!

4. The Shawshank Redemption written & directed by Frank Darabont
As it's mainly set in a men's prison, failing the test is understandable.

5. Superbad written by Seth Rogan & Evan Goldberg
The two named female characters don't really interact, until the end and we don't know what they are talking about.

6. Real Genius starring Val Kilmer & a bunch of people who never made another movie
This one pains me! There is a girl genius integral to the plot, but she never talks to any of the other 2 women, who only exist to bang the male geniuses.

8. The 40 Year Old Virgin written & directed by Judd Apatow, the king of sensitive feminist movie scripts
Women (other than the always brilliant Jane Lynch (playing a part originally written for a man!)) are flat, secondary characters, good for banging.

9. Ace Ventura starring Jim Carey in his oscar nominated role
You think that there are two women who talk to each other about something other than men in this movie, but nope! SPOILER ALERT: Lt. Einhorn is a man!

10. Indiana Jones Trilogy directed by Steven Spielberg
In the Indiana Jones trilogy (what fourth movie?!), there are 3 major female characters. One is a prissy prissy princess who screams, just beause she is covered by giant insects. One is a doctor, but, on the downside, a Nazi. One is kind of a bad ass, but she still ends up needing rescued. Poor showing, Steven Spielberg. I'll have to think twice about naming my first son Indiana.

This week in my life

In two days, I will be wearing a similar outfit, complete with silly gold hood:




















In six days, I will be wearing a swimsuit, sitting in a hot tub looking at this:















Hopefully, the snow will be melted enough for me to do some biking.

All women are REAL women

I was watching this video, "This is what a real woman looks like", and I found myself getting really annoyed. On some levels, the video has a great message. I think the media's incredibly narrow view of what women are "supposed" to look like is incredibly damaging. The diet industry makes billion dollars a year. Women are supposed to constantly care about what they look like (and spend lots of money to look acceptable). The average age of a girls first diet is 8! There's no way this is right.

However, I think the "real women" backlash against the media is also damaging. All women are real women. Short, tall; fat, skinny, curvy, flat...we're all women. A different narrow box of acceptability isn't any better than the previous one.

Models that have been photoshopped into un-reality: not real women.




















Super gorgeous super-models (even if they're skinny): Real Women



















Supreme Court Justice Nominee Elena Kagan: Real Woman


















Dottie Kamenshek, member of the All-American Girls Baseball League: Real Woman



















Kerri Walsh & Misty May-Treanor, multiple Olympic gold medalists and all around bad-asses: Real Women



















James Franco's Japanese Pillow: Not a Real Woman


















Any questions?

Roller madness!

I went back to California for a conference at UCLA. I didn't take any pictures as I imagine it would be extremely boring for everyone, except maybe the 200 or so people there. I also spent time in Santa Barbara, where a group of us went to a roller derby bout.

It was very hot out, so I cooled down the lady-like way, with a parasol and some cold beer.

The home team, Mission City Brawlin' Betties stomped (rolled?) the visitors from Ventura.

The crowd watches with intense anticipation.

I make funny faces while Dan smiles politely.
Other things I did: put a new cassette and hot pink grips on my bike, rode my bike, fell off my bike (just a little), did work for my job, worked on another paper I am writing with a Bren professor, saw Drake (free and terrible), attempted to make pizza dough with moth-infested flour, successfully made pizza dough with non-moth-infested flour, bought two swimsuits, applied for full-time jobs, and napped.

I'm so domestic.

Right now I am housesitting for my aunt and her dog and cat. This is Railey the dog. Isn't she adorable? I don't have a picture of the Creamsicle the cat

because he doesn't like me.

I was supposed to attend a BL get-together. I whipped up some delicious and healthy treats. This is some "healthy" artichoke dip. Instead of mayonnaise, it has silken tofu and greek yogurt. This is blended artichoke hearts, jalepenos, tofu, and garlic. Then you mix in the yogurt, parmesan cheese, salt, and, if you like things spicy, a little cayenne pepper. Sprinkle more parmesan cheese on the top, and bake. Unfortunately, I was unable to go to the BL happening that night, so I ate the dip myself on tortilla chips. Fancy! (The recipe came from 101 cook books, an awesome recipe site.)

This is what the counter looked like while i was cooking. You will notice all of the most important cooking ingredients. Onions, garlic, and lemon juice. Also, a bottle of kombucha, because my aunt was kind enough to stock the fridge for me before she left. I also made a dish that DJ Kelly Kel and I invented in a campground outside of Santa Cruz on our road trip. Since we managed to make it over a campfire using utensils scavenged from the world's sketchiest thrift store, it's pretty simple. Main ingredient: cous cous. Ooooh look! Green cous cous! Green (or any kind of cous cous, really) is mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, pepper, sauteed onions, garlic, and tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, and if you like it spicy, some (a lot of) pepper flakes. It's even vegan! Next time I think I'll try adding some lentils, and maybe making it with quinoa, so it can be gluten free.

The finished products (I especially love the uber classy cous cous dish):

What's happening in my life right now

1. I went on a moving-back road trip with DJ Kelly-Kel. Highlight: baby elephant seals. 2nd place highlight: beer.

2. Right this second I am sitting in a coffee shop, and they are playing Taylor Swift. Blergh.

3. I am back in Santa Barbara right now, finishing up with school, hanging out with Dan and his ridiculous mustache, and starting my (temporary) job. Note: Dan is not this adorable in real life, because of aforementioned ridiculous mustache.

4. Soon I will be heading to Bothell to housesit for my aunt and her dog and cat.

5. After that (if all goes according to plan) I will move into West Seattle and find a permanent job that pays enough to keep me in beer, bikes and fancy shoes, as well as pay off my staggeringly high student loan debt, but leaves me enough time to ride aforementioned bikes.

6. I also want a worm bin, and I've developed an expensive kombucha habit, so I'm going to learn how to make it.

I know it's a little blury, but....

Woo hoo!