Urinal of the Day: The Mysterious Case of the University of Massachusetts and the Gender-Nonconforming Mystery Urinal Mystery
Saturday, April 9, 2011
This is my urinal.
So, Dan Savage has a urinal of the day feature on Slog, and my picture of the weird UMass urinals in the women's rooms totally made it on the site. Go me? Alright, it might be a little lame/gross/weird, but I'm excited about it.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
I love scones.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
"If my wife incorporated her uterus, you'd say 'hands off.'"
Okay. What the fuck.
This story is aggravating on a few different levels.
In order to not botch it with my own rambling interpretation, here is the article published by the St. Petersburg Times:
This story is aggravating on a few different levels.
In order to not botch it with my own rambling interpretation, here is the article published by the St. Petersburg Times:
During last week's discussion about a bill that would prohibit governments from deducting union dues from a worker's paycheck, state Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando, used his time during floor debate to argue that Republicans are against regulations -- except when it comes to the little guys, or serves their specific interests.
At one point Randolph suggested that his wife "incorporate her uterus" to stop Republicans from pushing measures that would restrict abortions. Republicans, after all, wouldn't want to further regulate a Florida business.
Apparently the GOP leadership of the House didn't like the one-liner.
They told Democrats that Randolph is not to discuss body parts on the House floor.
"The point was that Republicans are always talking about deregulation and big government," Randolph said Thursday. "And I always say their philosophy is small government for the big guy and big government for the little guy. And so, if my wife's uterus was incorporated or my friend's bedroom was incorporated, maybe they (Republicans) would be talking about deregulating.
"It's not like I used slang," said Randolph, who actually got the line from his wife. He said Republicans voiced concern about young pages hearing the word uterus.
"I think it's a sad commentary about what we think about sex education in the state," he said.
House GOP spokeswoman Katie Betta: "The Speaker has been clear about his expectations for conduct on the House for during debate. At one point during the debate, he mentioned to the entire House that members of both parties needed to be mindful of decorum during debate.
"Additionally, the Speaker believes it is important for all Members to be mindful of and respectful to visitors and guests, particularly the young pages and messengers who are seated in the chamber during debates. In the past, if the debate is going to contain language that would be considered inappropriate for children and other guests, the Speaker will make an announcement in advance, asking children and others who may be uncomfortable with the subject matter to leave the floor and gallery."
Now, aside from the fact that the point of discussion was originally about unions, there are just so many more things at play. The article pretty much sums it up: the taboo around the use of the word uterus, issues of regulation when it comes to things such as abortion, and the state of sex ed. (And really, I thought we were reclaiming words like "cunt"- but are we really digressing to "uterus"?) Yikes.
Now, on a happier note, the ACLU is adopting this story along with the domain name incorporatemyuterus.com. What would happen if our bodies were as regulation-free as big business? Craziness. Hop onto the site and sign up for updates. (I'm also really hopin' for bumper stickers.)
At one point Randolph suggested that his wife "incorporate her uterus" to stop Republicans from pushing measures that would restrict abortions. Republicans, after all, wouldn't want to further regulate a Florida business.
Apparently the GOP leadership of the House didn't like the one-liner.
They told Democrats that Randolph is not to discuss body parts on the House floor.
"The point was that Republicans are always talking about deregulation and big government," Randolph said Thursday. "And I always say their philosophy is small government for the big guy and big government for the little guy. And so, if my wife's uterus was incorporated or my friend's bedroom was incorporated, maybe they (Republicans) would be talking about deregulating.
"It's not like I used slang," said Randolph, who actually got the line from his wife. He said Republicans voiced concern about young pages hearing the word uterus."I think it's a sad commentary about what we think about sex education in the state," he said.
House GOP spokeswoman Katie Betta: "The Speaker has been clear about his expectations for conduct on the House for during debate. At one point during the debate, he mentioned to the entire House that members of both parties needed to be mindful of decorum during debate.
"Additionally, the Speaker believes it is important for all Members to be mindful of and respectful to visitors and guests, particularly the young pages and messengers who are seated in the chamber during debates. In the past, if the debate is going to contain language that would be considered inappropriate for children and other guests, the Speaker will make an announcement in advance, asking children and others who may be uncomfortable with the subject matter to leave the floor and gallery."
Now, aside from the fact that the point of discussion was originally about unions, there are just so many more things at play. The article pretty much sums it up: the taboo around the use of the word uterus, issues of regulation when it comes to things such as abortion, and the state of sex ed. (And really, I thought we were reclaiming words like "cunt"- but are we really digressing to "uterus"?) Yikes.
Now, on a happier note, the ACLU is adopting this story along with the domain name incorporatemyuterus.com. What would happen if our bodies were as regulation-free as big business? Craziness. Hop onto the site and sign up for updates. (I'm also really hopin' for bumper stickers.)
Monday, April 4, 2011
AH! Boobs!
Art Attack: Woman Freaks Out Over Gauguin Painting at Washington's National Gallery
Something about Paul Gauguin's Two Tahitian Women really rubbed one National Gallery goer the wrong way.
Last week, a woman attacked the painting, screaming, "this is evil." She also reportedly tried to pull the 37 x 28.5-inch painting from the wall and banged on its plastic covering with her fists. The 1899 painting is a portrait of two women, both with exposed breasts. As far as art goes, this painting is pretty un-provocative.
Reportedly the woman — whose name hasn't been released — was tackled to the ground by another museum patron and restrained. She's now being charged with destruction of property and attempted theft.
Outbursts, one-woman protests and a heroic take-down?
Who says museums are boring.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Life at UMass: Humans Vs. Zombies
Well, folks, it's that time of year again. The time when it is no longer safe to walk around campus with any kind of bandanna, scarf, headband, etc. lest you be mistaken for participating in Humans vs. Zombies. If you DO make that mistake, do not be surprised to be ambushed, chased, or shot with a foam bullet by a player assuming that you are their opposition.
For those of you who are very confused and don't know what I'm talking about (aka, not a UMass student), here is the overview provided on the UMass Humans Vs. Zombies webpage:
Humans vs. Zombies is a game of tag played between two teams: human and zombie.
The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world, in which the winning team conquers and
outlives the other.
The goal of the human team is to survive the zombie onslaught from day one until the
final day, but stunning zombies with unmodified NERF weaponry (Buzzbee blasters are
also permitted), tossing clean balled up socks, and tossing fresh marshmallows. Once
stunned, zombies are ineligible to bite (tag) a human for a pre-set period of time.
Survival may be made easier for the human team depending on their success or failure
during a series of OPTIONAL side-missions and random encounters. In these
OPTIONAL side-missions and random encounters, the humans must satisfy a series of
objectives set by game administrators, while also fending off the zombie horde.
The sole goal of the zombie team is to devour all humans, by safely tagging human
players and recording their bite codes (each player carries a unique ID) and recording the
bites online.
Zombies are HIGHLY encouraged to feast on human flesh during the OPTIONAL side
missions and random encounters by any means possible.
The website also describes the color codings for bandannas, indicating whether you are a human, self-bitten zombie, immortal zombie, self-bitten AND immortal, etc. There are some serious rules about safe zones and times. For instance, there is a concert at the Mullins Center tonight, for which the players are allowed a half-hour grace period before and after the show if they are attending. It is very serious business. The zombies in the photos above (red indicates a regular zombie) convened as I was walking by them, and I laughed to myself as I heard one say "I've only seen two humans all day!"
I have to say, that my first few years at UMass, I absolutely despised this game. I had no tolerance for the kids charging around campus with their Nerf guns, yelling to each other about where the zombies had gone to that they were trying to attack. At times it's still kind of annoying. However, I think I've grown more sympathetic since freshman year, and now I find the whole thing pretty amusing, and almost endearing. Everybody laughs at how weird these kids are and how obnoxious it is that they take over the campus. But really, we're all a little weird. And these kids are having way more fun than us anyway.
Zombie on,
R.
For those of you who are very confused and don't know what I'm talking about (aka, not a UMass student), here is the overview provided on the UMass Humans Vs. Zombies webpage:
Humans vs. Zombies is a game of tag played between two teams: human and zombie.
The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world, in which the winning team conquers and
outlives the other.
The goal of the human team is to survive the zombie onslaught from day one until the
final day, but stunning zombies with unmodified NERF weaponry (Buzzbee blasters are
also permitted), tossing clean balled up socks, and tossing fresh marshmallows. Once
stunned, zombies are ineligible to bite (tag) a human for a pre-set period of time.
Survival may be made easier for the human team depending on their success or failure
during a series of OPTIONAL side-missions and random encounters. In these
OPTIONAL side-missions and random encounters, the humans must satisfy a series of
objectives set by game administrators, while also fending off the zombie horde.
The sole goal of the zombie team is to devour all humans, by safely tagging human
players and recording their bite codes (each player carries a unique ID) and recording the
bites online.
Zombies are HIGHLY encouraged to feast on human flesh during the OPTIONAL side
missions and random encounters by any means possible.
The website also describes the color codings for bandannas, indicating whether you are a human, self-bitten zombie, immortal zombie, self-bitten AND immortal, etc. There are some serious rules about safe zones and times. For instance, there is a concert at the Mullins Center tonight, for which the players are allowed a half-hour grace period before and after the show if they are attending. It is very serious business. The zombies in the photos above (red indicates a regular zombie) convened as I was walking by them, and I laughed to myself as I heard one say "I've only seen two humans all day!"
I have to say, that my first few years at UMass, I absolutely despised this game. I had no tolerance for the kids charging around campus with their Nerf guns, yelling to each other about where the zombies had gone to that they were trying to attack. At times it's still kind of annoying. However, I think I've grown more sympathetic since freshman year, and now I find the whole thing pretty amusing, and almost endearing. Everybody laughs at how weird these kids are and how obnoxious it is that they take over the campus. But really, we're all a little weird. And these kids are having way more fun than us anyway.
Zombie on,
R.
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