Paradoxical

1. For Kicks by Dick Francis *
2. Dead Cert by Dick Francis *
3. Odds Against by Dick Francis *
4. Forfeit by Dick Francis *
5. Enquiry by Dick Francis *
6. Rat Race by Dick Francis *
7. Knockdown by Dick Francis *
8. Risk by Dick Francis *
9. Reflex by Dick Francis *
10. Banker by Dick Francis *
11. The Danger by Dick Francis *
12. Proof by Dick Francis *
13. Break In by Dick Francis *
14. Bolt by Dick Francis *
15. The Edge by Dick Francis *
16. Straight by Dick Francis *
17. Comeback by Dick Francis *
18. Decider by Dick Francis *
19. Wild Horses by Dick Francis *
20. Dead Heat by Dick Francis
     

1. American Idol RPF : vampire!Tim/Adam Lambert = hawt.
2. I liked Desperate Housewives when the male characters were simply accessories to the females' stories.  Now the dudes seem to be actual fully-fleshed characters, and meh...  I'm just not that into it.
3. I must be getting old... saw a young (16ish) girl with the loveliest porcelain skin, and thought it was a shame that she had so many facial piercings, ruining her look - luckily, I realised that actually the piercings ARE her look!  But I've obviously internalised a lot of bullshit about style and appearance that I need to deal with.
4. I like winter 'cause it means I get to wear coats and scarves, but I'm just not a fan of air so cold that it hurts to breathe.  Lucky that I live in mostly-temperate Auckland.
5. I need to get online more.  Shouldn't let the fact that I spend all day at work on a PC put me off.  I feel like I'm missing out on brain candy.
6. I'm not gonna take any medicine for this 'flu tomorrow, but I am going to drink a lot of wine at my uncle's birthday bash.  This may not be the best option, medically, but I bet it will be fun.

"This, then, is the terrible bargain we have regretfully struck: Men are allowed the easy comfort of their unexamined privilege, but my regard will always be shot through with a steely, anxious bolt of caution." --Melissa @ Shakesville

"I hope those men will hear me when I say, again, I do not hate you. I mistrust you. You can tell yourselves that's a problem with me, some inherent flaw, some evidence that I am fucked up and broken and weird; you can choose to believe that the women in your lives are nothing like me.

Or you can be vigilant, can make yourselves trustworthy. Every day.

Just in case they're more like me than you think." --Melissa @ Shakesville

We often see articles telling women that they need to be careful to not drink too heavily, or wear anything too revealing, or go out too late at night, otherwise they risk being raped. We hear people saying that abused women are to blame because they don’t leave. We see articles telling women that they can’t “have it all,” and must “choose” between a career and parenting. We hear that women need to “grow a thicker skin,” “toughen up” and “be one of the boys” to get ahead in the workplace.

Of course feminists realize that, actually, men need to stop raping and abusing women, job opportunities need to be more accommodating to parents and men need to become more involved in parenting roles, and employers need to stop condoning sexual harassment and start treating women as equal workers. But sadly, our mainstream media and culture don’t see that. And we’ve all bemoaned how frustrating that can be.

What all of these examples have in common is that they assume women are the problem. They assume that we need to adapt to the patriarchal structure, rather than admitting that the structure itself needs to evolve (hell, be removed) in order to create any opportunity for true equality. They say that sure, society will accept women as equals . . . as long as they sufficiently and quietly adapt to a system that was deliberately designed to exclude them.