Niagara!

I'm sure by now you're sick of reading Kissyface, having eagerly checked for a new Daily Drift all week. Sigh, what a conundrum, to have no new intriguing and wonderful blog posts with which to entertain thyself.

Enough of that.

I went to Niagara Falls and spent very little time paying attention to what day it was or even where my phone or the Internet was. It was, in a word, lovely. We saw one of the most awesome scenes there is to see: 

Oh and this...

I know what you're thinking - "Wow, so brave to hike to the bottom of the falls in the middle of the winter when everything is covered in ice and that water is frigid!" And you're right, we are adventurous. But... we were on a very protected walkway as a part of "Journey Behind the Falls" which is on the Canadian side and totally worth the money. It's this view and two others more directly ...behind the falls. Aptly named, I must say. It was insanely impressive, and watching the water flood by made me question the sanity (even more than I did previously) of those that chose to go over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel. Not surprising that most of them died. (Sidenote: The grammar/capitalization/proofreading on those FAQs is poor at best, but I was amused by the questions so I included it. Enjoy.)

So, look forward to more frequent Drifts since I'm back in the country. And looking forward to a week of serious produstination.

Kissyface

Aaahhhh - this is not okay! I remember hearing about this as a child and it's shocking that there is still lead in lipstick! Exceeding the limits allowed for lead in candy - wait, we put lead in candy?!? You aren't supposed to eat lead. You are supposed to eat candy. We are so baffling sometimes.

Regardless of whether it's ingested or on your skin, lead is still bad for you. And don't even try to tell me for one second, FDA, that there isn't a high risk of incidental ingestion of lipstick. Those lips may look fabulous but they are also functional and used frequently. To eat that lead-filled candy.

So, if you're a lipstick lover, make sure you are using (or, for lovers of lipstick-lovers, kissing lips that are using) one of the brands not on the 10 Worst Offenders list in the article.

Happy smooching!

Produstinator Ponderings

Here we are again. Two papers this week. Zero done, both in progress, and I've done lots of cleaning and other non-urgent things instead of my papers. Of course it's time for more produstination and blog writing.

So, movies can serve a lot of purposes. They can be funny or serious or informative or dumb or anything in between. On Friday, "The Price of Pleasure" was screened at school and it was one of those movies that you remember and think about for a long time after seeing it. It's a documentary about porn, but that's really not what I want to talk about here, mainly because that's an issue with so many different threads, I simply don't want to get into it. However, I am really thankful for having seen it and the wonderful and friendly discussion that my group of friends was capable of having about it on Saturday, amidst rinsing pig intestine, stuffing sausage and lots of excellent food and wine.

Some of the most resonating points of Friday evening were said by my professors and the Dean before the film even screened. The professors, who are obviously more seasoned public health folks, said the most impressive part of the evening was having many people with differing views about porn all gathered in the same room and engaging in thoughtful and respectful discussion, which is not often true of our world (read: current political climate) these days. With that tone set, the two panelists who answered questions following the film were completely professional and academic, never attacking one another or belittling the point their opponent made, and simply sticking to strong and concise arguments supporting why they held their belief.

The Dean said that when the School of Public Health was choosing their one and only picture to go on the University website, they chose a picture of condoms. The PR folks for BU said they were nervous that it would be off-putting to prospective students, to which the Dean responded, if they're offended by a picture of condoms, they probably shouldn't be in public health. He continued by saying in public health, most of the time, you have to talk about things that generally make people uncomfortable, whether that means sex or acknowledging health disparities or publicizing illegal dumping of chemicals into a town's water supply, and doing so in a way that does not completely alienate people who do not share your views. No matter the topic, talking about all of these things is far more difficult than looking at a photo of multi-colored condoms. Seems like they've got a good screening process in that photo.

In the immediate future, paper writing does not sound all that appealing, but I am happy down to my very last atom that it means I am in this program and have found what I love in the world.

Sappiness? Check. Two papers? Here we go.

Let's be friends

This is cute and makes me thankful for mine :)

Meow

Cat calling is one of my favorite topics. I'm sure anyone who has read this blog for any length of time just might have been able to guess that. It's typically quite an awkward experience. Firstly, who honestly expects to get what they are asking for in a cat call? "Hey baby, bring that sweet ass over here." Oh, sure. If you hadn't requested, I never would have but now since you've asked.... okay. You got it! Secondly, I don't think I've ever met anyone who enjoys being disrespected. Cat calling is disrespectful. Therefore, the majority of people, who see cat calling as disrespectful, do not like it. The end. (It also stems from certain parts of the culture of relations between men and women, i.e. women as a gender being largely subordinate to, dependent upon, and threatened by men.)

Amanda, my blog mate, and her roommate contemplated addressing cat callers instead of ignoring them with a very un-coy, loud and dramatic, "Why helloooo, cat caller!" I have recently instated the thumbs down, generally. But the impetus for today's thoughts are being very tamely cat-called this morning. I don't even think I'd call it a cat call. Let's set the scene.

I was walking over the bridge and close to the top of the bridge walking toward Cambridge. Suddenly, this biker, headed in the opposite direction and looking both tired from biking up the incline and quite dapper in his yellow reflective jacket, helmet, thick socks pulled up to his knees and backpack, likely containing the clothes he'd wear after arriving at his office, says, "You look cute today." I was caught off guard and didn't know whether to ignore him, thank him, or tell him I really didn't care what he thought...  but he was already well on his way to the other side of the river, which left me pondering cat calling.

This particular instance felt less like a disrespectful violation or ridiculous attempt at solicitation for sex and more like a genuine compliment between strangers. If someone I knew had said this, I absolutely would consider it a compliment and say thank you.

Tame and relatively polite as it was, it still left me a little bristled. I can't help but think about how unwanted cat calls are, even this one. The time of day, neighborhood, intersection of race and sexual orientation with womanhood as well as countless other factors can completely change the tone of cat calls and also drastically increase the chances of it actually being a dangerous situation. And being in danger, or having your mobility limited to certain times of day or places, simply due to your gender is infuriating to say the least.

I don't really know what to do about cat calling, but deemed these thoughts and links worth sharing. What about you? How do you feel about cat calling in general, being cat called or doing the cat calling (open discourse encouraged)?

Also, an unrelated fist pump.

Keep it up!

People respond powerfully when they see politics interfering with women’s health. -TS

#$@&*!!!

Organizations that help women should help organizations that help women.

Yes, typing things in bigger font makes them more true.

But, seriously. It makes sense. Not just for women, but really, for any cause that any organization is working for. Otherwise, you're just undoing any progress that anyone else is making, which is most likely somehow benefitting your organization or helping you contribute to your field, directly or indirectly. I haven't been in this working world for too long, but I have learned that nothing gets done alone and teamwork is paramount.

In this case, I'm talking about the teamwork between Susan G. Komen (SGK) and Planned Parenthood (PP). These two organizations provide, at the very least, healthcare and access to services that women really need when they really need them. More than that, they both represent stability at uncertain times, whether those times be during cancer diagnosis and treatment, during unexpected pregnancy, both at the same time, or anything in between.

So, what's the problem? Oh, just that SGK has withdrawn their financial support of PP due to an ongoing federal investigation of PP to discover whether or not they spent federal funds on abortions. This federal investigation was initiated by Rep. Cliff Stearns, an elected official with a history of attacking reproductive rights, who was allegedly likely pressured by his anti-abortion backers. The backers have money and votes, and he wants both, so he wants to keep them happy. He can keep them happy and prevent SGK from giving PP money by investigating them. This isn't rocket science, and it isn't right.

Presumably, an organization like Susan G. Komen would put women's health as a priority. More of a priority than making sweeping policies like, "We don't give money to any organization under federal investigation." What idiocy! Then feds could "investigate" anyone they wanted for as long as they wanted to block donors. 

I was sad, but now I'm over that and I'm angry. With Rep. Stearns for a lot of reasons, and at the people who decided that this was a good policy for SGK. I can't be mad at the whole organization because they have done some amazing things and contributed to research that people I know are benefitting from. I just wish that they would realize they're fighting the same fight as Planned Parenthood, which offers a whole host of things that are vital to women's healthcare and by default, anyone who cares about any of these women. So, pretty much anyone ever has benefitted from the services of Planned Parenthood. Hey, SGK - Abortion is only 3 bloody percent of what they do! Don't let it stop you from helping them do all these other amazing things because of some idiotic general policy.

So what can you do? I am clearly hopping mad about this, so I figure there are many options:

1. Contact your local legislators! Voice your opinion! About funding for Planned Parenthood, the use of federal investigations as strategic blocking of funds, or anything else. They want your vote, so they care about what you think. If you're in Massachusetts, click here. Otherwise, I found a great directory here.

2. Give to Planned Parenthood. They accept gifts as little as $5. They have hundreds of thousands of dollars to make up, and I figure even if only 1% of the population feels the same way I do, or benefits from services of Planned Parenthood (and I have a feeling it's more than that), we can help make up the difference.

3. Contact Susan G. Komen and tell them how you feel about this withdrawal of funds.

Tell them you support organizations that help women helping organizations that help women.