Around 10

10 Things for Tuesday from around and about.

1. Re: yesterday's post, I want another date. And so does he. This could be good.

2. You're going to hear a whole lot about how "social issues" are just a distraction from "real issues" like the economy in this election cycle. Here's a good article to help you respond with appropriate information about how they aren't so much a distraction as they are intertwined.

3. When I was a kid my family lived briefly in a place called Newcastle Upon Tyne in the UK. I follow a blog that posts photos from the city. There's something about this shot that sort of...hurts me in my heart and my memory.

4. I don't read a lot of music blogs. I'll even skip over music entries in a lot of blogs just because I am so utterly lost in the music scene. Kath mentioned a 60s rock and roll tune last night that everyone knows (something about Renee). Didn't ring even one bell. I've started reading Six String Stories, though. The blogger was a student of my dad's and later was a teacher of mine and I find I'm still learning from him. I think all you music folks will like him and a lot of the rest of you, too.

5. I would love to plant signs like this all over my neighborhood.

6. This short interview with an abortion provider about the 20 week abortion ban hits so many important sticking points in the debate. Here's just one tidbit to whet your whistle, "I think it’s a very calculated strategy that fails to take into account the complexity of these cases."

7. Helen Jane is a big deal in the blogosphere. I knew her name but I don't know that I'd read anything of hers, though, until this presentation she made at Mom 2.0 went whirling around the internet. She calls it Solutions for a Painful Internet and it's a whole lot of brilliant in one post/presentation. If you spend time interacting with other humans on the internet I think it's important for you to read this.

8. Yet another interesting contradiction is being highlighted over at Feministing. The general consensus of public health officials and safer sex advocates is that condoms are good. They prevent disease and pregnancy and are generally cheaper than addressing either of those conditions. In NYC, and I'm sure in a lot of other places, these officials even distribute free condoms to promote safer sex practices. Apparently when NYC police suspect someone of prostitution, though, they confiscate any condoms the person has and can use them as evidence against the accused. Cross purposes much?

9. Check out the passenger list for the Mayflower. How'd you like to be named Resolved?

10. This story by a breast cancer survivor about why she's no longer going to associate herself with the Komen Foundation is old in internet terms but still relevant. In my tiny little world cancer continues to beat the shit out of people in 2012. Let's advocate for real change in research and treatment, please.