A Reader

Thesis is done, but life hasn't found a way to uncomplicate itself. But, I'm updating this blog--finally. So, here is a post. I hope the next one doesn't take me a couple of years to write.

I received via email an unexpected but very welcomed comment from a reader. It really made my day/week/year… While I received this a while back, I think of it from time to time.

Here it is:

Hi Janine,

We don't know each other, I just stumbled upon one of your old blog posts and it made me laugh so much! The post is dated November 2006, "Starship Troopers vs. The Brain Sucking Vagina", and, although it's quite concerning overall, this was hilarious: "[...] throughout the film the soldiers stand at attention (giant penises) and use their huge guns (giant penises) to kill, and their medical instruments (giant penises) to poke, prod, and rape the Brain Bug in one of the final scenes. At the end of the film it is suggested that the troopers will defeat the alien race, because they are recruiting more soldiers (more potential giant penises)."

I don't know if you're aware of it, but the image of penis was extremely widespread in several real fascist [c]ountries, particularly in Italy. Images of towers, swords, guns, rifles and verbs such as "fertilizing", "conquering", etc. were carefully selected because of their supposed relationship with men's virility. It seems that such (medieval) idea is still very alive, which is quite concerning... However, you expressed it clearly, creatively and, perhaps unwillingly, funny! Thanks for giving me something worth reading, in this era of pointless "list posts" blogs. :)

It was really nice to receive some positive feedback about my writing. What's even more fulfilling is that someone enjoyed my writing and had a good laugh (and not in the "OMG this writing is so horrible, hahaha" kind of way).

So, fuck you, Prof. M., (one day I'll have the balls to write out her name--maybe when I am published somewhere besides my blog) for telling me my writing sucked and that I shouldn't be in the English Master's program. Hahaha.

Hey, I can do that!

I'm supposed to be writing my thesis right now. There are over fifty library books sitting all over my floor and I need to sort through them between today and tomorrow. I much rather read stuff on the internet and catch up with all of the feeds I have neglected in the past weeks than tackle the gargantuan task of thesis writing that lays before me.

Anyways, in honor of useful and insightful procrastination here is another article from another great blog, Critical Miami, which relates both to my thesis in writing and Miami.

How, you ask--simple. This article exposes the elusive art of editing a la Miami Herald!

Fem-text-astic

This is what gets my feminist taste-buds working!

A nice little collection of feminist writing available in full-text on the internet! Yey!

Thought I would share.

**UPDATE: Crap, this link is dead too. Curse you, changeable internet, and your unlinking ways!