Not As Wrong As Other Things

It feels a little bit wrong to come in here and do a links post after a lot of time away but, given recent events, a links post also seems right.

I've been listening to some podcasts. I'm still not totally sure where they fit in my life but The Moth stories are cool and the best place to get a regular dose of Paula Poundstone is on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. Today I was listening to Moth stories and heard a story told by Kemp Powers that I thought was integral to the #YesAllWomen and #NotAllMen discussions. It may not seem like it at first but I think that if you stick with it you'll agree with me. Right after that came a story by Lynn Ferguson, who I knew primarily as Craig Ferguson's sister and one of the voices in Chicken Run. She is, of course, a writer and performer in a her own right and she was telling a story with, seemingly, a lot of triggers for me. In the end, though, it's a story about making informed decisions and having those decisions respected by the people around you. So I guess that makes it pertinent to these hashtag discussions as well.

In response to the mass shooting in Isla Vista that was based on a man feeling he was owed romantic and sexual involvement and, if he did not get it, a violent response was justified there are a lot of links to point you toward. This Tumblr for instance is relatively unnecessary proof that this sort of assumption and response is widespread. A note about how dangerous it is even for women to point out this sort of thing. A real life example of a man not even seeing his actions as violent objectification.  Margaret Atwood being succinct on the subject. A note on using the label "mental illness" as a shield. And finally, not directly related to the Isla Vista incident but an important insight into how we treat rape when prosecuting it.

Now you want some happy links? Me too. Afraid I can't promise anything, though.

Here is a dog behavior to which I have not yet been exposed. Maybe I can avoid this one.

On using Romeo & Juliet as role models.

No prison time for this dude and yet, unmarried people are seen as imperfect in our society.  So, make sure you get married at all costs and if you happen to marry this guy well...life is full of risks!

I have not read this yet and I totally should because I do think that the net neutrality legal wranglings are shaping up to be one big clusterfuck.

It's interesting how similar the mainstream and counter culture looks become as time moves on.

I read this post on potty training a human because I thought it was going to go in a new and different direction. It didn't. What was funny for me, though, is that with very little editing this could have been a chapter in one of my dog training books about potty training a canine. The big opportunity she missed here is teaching the kid to go on cue.

A woman decided to show the world that having an abortion is not scary. She, in fact, made a video of her abortion experience. I haven't watched the video yet but I feel it deserves sharing because knowledge is power. I remember a friend recounting her experience to me, right down to the furniture in the waiting room, and how demystifying and helpful that was for me.

Because Fuck Cancer here's a post about what to bring for a chemo appointment.

Woof, hard to end on a high note but I think I can manage it. Some guy left a bartender a $1000 tip for her dog's surgery. I hope that guy got whatever he wanted that day because that was a wonderful thing to do.