Mommies Paradise

I am finally going to get off my big ass and run a marathon. See, I have never run in a marathon before but it is something that I have always wanted to do. I just never felt strong enough, focused enough, whatever enough. But enough is enough. I am going to do it!

I need training. I have joined the National AIDS Marathon Training Program. I am training for the half marathon (13 miles) at Disneyland. I would love to do the full marathon in Italy, but first thing is first. Maybe next year.

The really cool thing is that this AIDS marathon raises money to support AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA). APLA is a Los Angeles based entity which offers support services designed to promote self sufficiency to people living with HIV/AIDS. Their services include tons of stuff ranging from the nation’s most comprehensive food bank program for people living with HIV/AIDS to dental services, counseling and residential services programs.

41 million people around the world are living with HIV. One million people in America are living with this disease and Los Angeles has the second highest number in the nation. The people living with and who are affected by AIDS are not limited to gay men. This group includes men, women and children.

APLA is a great program and is truly doing fantastic work.

Sounds great, right? Well, here is the rub. I need help. I have to raise $1,900 by July 13 in order to continue with the training program. All proceeds go to APLA and all donations are tax deductible, of course.

Want to get involved? You can go here to donate!

This is a really great cause and goes a long way to helping a huge part of our community struggling above and beyond the curse of HIV/AIDS.

To sponsor me go here!

And because now this song is in my head!

Um. Do you love the spanish dubbing during the dialogue?

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Every time I hear the term Stay At Home Mom, or SAHM, I get this weird squint in my right eye and I am sure my nostrils flare.

I could never quite figure out what it was that was bugging me about this term used to describe women (or men because you can also be a Stay At Home Dad or a SAHD -don’t even get me started on that acronym) who “opt out” (cough *bullshit*) and stay home to take care of their children. Then one day it just came to me, like a brick on the head. The whole term insinuates that I never actually leave the house. Because see, I am a Stay At Home Mom (a Stay At Home Parent or SAHP) . Then this brick of a term pounded home that same vision with terms like ‘bon-bons‘ and statements such as ‘Don’t bother me while I am watching my stories!‘

(Read the article)

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The Freedom of Choice Act is being revived (Via Feministing).

And NOW is holding a National Call In Day to support the FCA so go and Stand Up for Women.

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…and how this type of negligence contributes to how people vote, to the detriment of our bodies.

Over at Women’s Media Center there is an article up by Gloria Feldt (Read the article)

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Speaking of women not getting paid for the work we do, I have noticed that a few articles have popped up in the last couple of days regarding compensation for family care givers (SAHM’s *cringe*) as well as the shameful wage gap between women and men who work outside the home. The current pay gap is 23-24 cents. It never ceases to shock women that women make 76-77 cents for every one dollar a man earns in the same job. Some men? Not so much the shock.

These articles may be motivated by Equal Pay Day on April 24. Good on them. Here is some stuff that I found interesting and particularly heart-breaking (see The Feminine Face of Poverty) but I recommend following the links to read them all.

(Read the article)

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The Supreme Court has upheld a ban on late term abortions stating that it does not in fact violate woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. Bull Shit.

Lynn Harris over at Broadsheet sums it up nicely.

This is cruel and unusual punishment of women in the most tragic of circumstances. The Right just continues to beat at women’s rights in any form and it is appalling to say the very, very least.

UPDATE: Broadsheet and Feministing have a good round up what other people have to say.

UPDATE 2: Lynn Harris has another nice piece up at Salon about this.

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Let’s just say that I won’t be paying any money to see “Grindhouse.” And this article from Catherine Price over at the Broadsheet pretty much sums it up:

If I were to write a list of current movies that I am unlikely to see, “Grindhouse” would probably be right at the top. A double feature involving a zombie flick and a slasher film in which a stuntman kills women with his “death proof” stunt car? I would rather stare at a wall for four hours. (I’m not kidding. I would actually rather stare at a wall.)

Commenting on the misogyny of these films is hardly worth the trouble…

That being said, perfectly I might add, WHY oh WHY did Neca Toys develop an action figure based on the Rapist character?

Neato.

Rapists are sooo cool. And rape is a real joke!

Jackasses.

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This article in Slate entitled Women Who Ditch Their Career for Homelife Could Be Making a Huge Mistake initially made the hair on my neck stand on end.

The author, Leslie Bennetts recently wrote a book entitled The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much?

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. It would be easy to dismiss this as yet another salvo in the mommy wars-—the debate over women opting out of careers to be stay-at-home moms. But Bennetts, a longtime journalist and writer for Vanity Fair, is more interested in investigating what she sees as the heart of the matter: economics. Through impressive research and interviews with experts and with real women, Bennetts shows that women simply cannot afford to quit their day jobs. Long-term loss of income has a cascading impact in areas such as medical benefits and retirement funds, not to mention a woman’s sense of autonomy, derived from financial independence. Further, a career supplies a woman with a measure of security for herself and her children in the event of unexpected sickness or divorce. As any woman who has tried knows, returning to the workforce and finding a well-paying job after an absence of years, or even decades, is difficult. Not so long ago mothers would pin a dollar bill to their daughters’ underclothes when they went out on a date in case, for some reason, they needed carfare home. Those mothers knew all to well that without money of your own it’s easy to be left stranded. As Bennetts expertly shows, it’s still true. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bennets received scathing criticism from a whole flock of SAHMs, many of whom didn’t even read her book. I can’t imagine why with a title like that. At first glance it puts me in mind of something the horrifying “Dr.” Laura would come out with and that in and of itself makes me want to scream.

(Read the article)

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This is very late but other stuff has been taking over.

A friend of mine tipped me off to a message that was sent out by the American Family Association about the Discovery Channel Special “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.” This message was emailed to my friend from a Very Faithful sucker believer who emailed the message along to everyone that she knew, regardless of his or her faith or lack thereof. Already rude.

(Read the article)

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GAH! A what?? You are kidding me! No? GAH!

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters?* We all know how much I love, love love talking meat.

The Slate review does compare it to vomit - albeit good vomit:

Neither a satire, a pastiche, nor a parody, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters is like the bright-colored gunk you might vomit up after a weekend of gorging on cartoons, B movies, and bad science fiction. But when I compare the movie to vomit, I don’t mean it in a bad way—a paradox that Willis and Maiellaro, with their scatological, stoner-friendly humor, would probably understand.

Well, come Sunday morning puke is puke no matter how fun your weekend was.

*Oh, and just so you know I do kind of dig the movie poster - because well, it is funny.

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