clevermanka | Don't give up the fight

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Don't give up the fight

Ever since he started the Feminist storyline, I've been waiting for Sinfest to fuck it up. He managed to do it, finally, with his anti-porn chapter. I knew it was only a matter of time when a Dworkin book appeared in the strip. Sigh.

I believe I'll have a working prototype of Sherlock by the time I go to bed tonight. I'm making the prototype a shorter coat so as not to waste quite so much (more) fabric. Also, with luck it'll be a useable garment and I don't need two greatcoats. I think/hope the short version will work as a funky dress jacket. (Update: Right before cutting the sleeve of the prototype, I decided again to revise the way I'm doing the cuff. HA HA HA HA HA *headdesk*)

Want some Avengers stuff that isn't fanfic? Reviews, meta analysis, and a fanvid can be found here. If you don't do anything else there, check out the fanvid. So! Great!

I've been getting six to seven hours of sleep per night lately. YAY! I've been scared to mention it, but I'm hoping it's now A Thing and I won't slip back into those three- and four-hour nights for a while. I haven't had an eight-hour night since March, though, and that's sort of a pity. I bet if I was getting eight hours I'd be seeing more improvement from my CrossFit efforts.

Speaking of improvement, my swelling issues are dramatically decreased. I only swell between one or two inches after eating. Usually less than two inches. Such a relief! The only thing I changed since this time last month is exercise. So either it's coincidence (entirely possible) or increasing physical activity improved my digestive system. Now that the G.I. stuff seems to be under a bit more control, I'm going to try a weekly fast. I'd hoped to start that this month, but it'll be easier to start in June when I've got less going on. I picked Monday as my fasting day since it'll give my body a chance to chill out after any weekend indulgences (read: Binge Drinking).

Lately, in addition to CrossFitting nearly every MWF (I missed last Friday because of my knee), I'm making an effort to stand up and walk around at least once an hour during the workday. The proof of the dangers of sitting for hours on end is becoming harder to ignore. Daily exercise can't counterbalance the damage of sitting for so long every day. So. At least once an hour I get up and move around a bit. If I have time, I do a quick jaunt around the inside perimeter of the building. I call this "walking around the block" and if you know/knew the building where I worked, this would make total sense to you. Once a day, I climb the stairs (four flights).

Who else is doing things to improve your quality of life? Please feel free to brag in the comments.

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Frankly, since Tats started on that feminist bender he's kind of lost me. It's not because I don't care about the feminist message, but rather because his treatment of it is tremendously heavy-handed and in many cases misandrist via male guilt.

It stands in stark contrast to the Sinfest of ten years ago, too. I started reading the comic in the earlier part of the last decade (god, it's been that long?!) and it's definitely shifted. It's not a bad thing to evolve, but good grief, Tatsuya Ishida just had a dramatic reversal of heart and the comics seem to be a lot less entertaining.

The tricycle girl is particularly annoying, as is the whole Matrix throwback. The Matrix trope is incredibly overplayed, and with both concepts he seems to be relying on "tell and tell again rather than show" -- and they're just not entertaining to me, especially as they become repetitive.

Surely there must be a better way to work sexual equality into the strip versus his approach of beating the reader over the head with second-wave feminism.

At first maybe it was a good approach to take, but I feel like he's been fucking it up since a few strips into the arc.

Our work contract says you can do two 15 minute breaks, or you can have 5 nimutes an hour. If I have a day when my work needs a lot of sitting I take the 5 minutes. Since the nearest restroom is literally a block away, a trip means a 2 block walk, Yes, the building is 3 blocks long and almost 2 blocks wide. My team is in the middle of a dead spot so there are restrooms a block away in 3 directions.

Surely there must be a better way to work sexual equality into the strip versus his approach of beating the reader over the head with second-wave feminism.

At first maybe it was a good approach to take, but I feel like he's been fucking it up since a few strips into the arc.

I agree 100%. I loved what he was doing with Feminist Monique, but I wanted to see her evolve into owning her sexuality instead of crushing it.

That's a big building!

One of the side benefits of teaching is that you do an awful lot of standing. However, with the semester over, I need to make sure I don't spend too much time on my ass in front of a computer. Working from home helps as it means I can get up and make myself a sandwich or do the laundry or something in between long bouts of crouching over a hot keyboard.

Brilliant news on the sleeping, and I am not familiar with your digestive situation, but it looks like that is a promising direction too.

I'm trying to continue to up my running and ran for 2 hours straight yesterday. My knee is killing me, probably ITB issues, so I need to work on stretching that out and strengthening inner thigh muscles.

Oh, lordy, my digestive issues go back to, like, 2005. Count yourself lucky that you're not familiar with 'em. =D

I got weak adductors, too. *sad fistbump* I roll out my ITBs, quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and feet at least every other day.

mckitterick bought us one of these (http://www.rumbleroller.com/) and it's a killer. Awesome, but yeowch! I don't use it on my ITBs at all yet. Still using the basic foam roller on those. I roll my feet on a lacrosse ball, and at work I roll out my glutes and hamstrings while in my office chair on a lacrosse ball.

YAY FOR SELF-IMPROVEMENT!

Gee, I totally misunderstood what the Avengers WAS. I'm thinking Emma Peel, & John Steed...this looks more like a comic book. That woman is really quite hot...I love her body -she's got RAWR!

I sit too much!! ah...but not today! :)

I'm an equal-opportunity Avenger lover. JOHN STEED <3 4EVAH.

So glad to hear your swelling has decreased, do you think the cumulative effects of the acupuncture might have helped that as well?

As much as I agree with what you're saying, I don't think that 'nique can get laid (by anyone, except maybe herself, and that opens up another can of worms, because i can see it being played for uncomfortable laughs all to easily with a parallel between her and either slick or the pig) in the context of the strip without it changing fairly radically.

and, yes, i really, really dislike big wheels girl, not merely because she is a caricature of the NO FUN FEMINIST (which is, itself, a misogynist trope that needs to fuck off); everyone in the strip is a caricature of something, but she has absolutely no fucking nuance or subtlety or affect to her motivation as a caricature. she's fucking RANDIAN in her monolithic steadfastness and obstinance. she is a drive-by speed bump of BIG SISTER IS WATCHING without any comedic effect, except, occasionally, that of the other characters' reactions to her.

(further rants on being a feminist with a penis will be appearing in my journal shortly, because i had a fairly heated conversation with a coworker late friday afternoon on the subject, and i've been letting it percolate to provide some context and reaction instead of merely a rote recounting)

To improve the quality of my life, I've embraced the guiltless and angerless 'no'. "No, I'm sorry, I can't stay late." "No, I will be out of town that weekend." "No, I won't cancel my vacation to fit your schedule." (to be fair, that last one wasn't asked of me. It was a friend who said, "I'm planning an Austin trip and this weekend works for me. That cool with you?" I thought about the logistics of cancelling a trip I'd already booked, and then thought, "Wait, I can just say that doesn't work..." and he's coming another weekend)

For a while I had the "NO!!!!" going on, mostly as a reaction to people who encroached on my space and time and needs like they had some right to them, but I've finally moved into the space of "My 'no' is a perfectly reasonable response to your request, and neither of us should be upset or surprised that this exchange is taking place."

I am also, for the first time in my adult memory, taking a Real Grownup Vacation. Not a trip to visit friends and family, not a festival, not a road trip, but an honest-to-gods "I get on a plane and go a place and stay in a nice hotel and see some sights and do some hiking and get a massage and visit some wineries" vacation. I am very excited. The closest thing I've done to this was about three years ago when I took a weekend down at the coast, but that was really just "I am going a place I already know to do things I like to do, by myself," not really an adventure.

Love,
Rowan

I don't think that 'nique can get laid

One doesn't have to be sexually active to own one's sexuality.

I liked Big Wheel Girl's interactions with Satan, and I was hoping he'd do something more complex with that relationship.

You're right that everyone in the strip is a caricature, and they're usually a little more two-dimensional. Slick objectifies every woman he sees, but really wants to be liked. Squig (my favorite character) is a pot-smoking douche-bro, but is willing to sacrifice his ego for his friends (and pretty much everyone is his friend). Even the cherubs, with all their happy glitter have a nasty, bloodthirsty side.

Big Wheel Girl has, as far as I can tell, no extra touches or hidden sides. It's frustrating.

I look forward to reading your rant. I know women who don't think someone with a penis can be a feminist. I don't argue with them, because I'm sure not gonna change their minds, and I remember being a baaaaaaaby feminist separatist myself once (long ago, and not ever what I'd call rabid about it). But IMO, that attitude is Not Helping, thanks.

Maybe? It's so hard to say. Kiva is pleased that certain things are shifting and she's able to work on new areas that were blocked before, so...perhaps? Hell, I dunno. I just lie there. =D

That is fucking awesome!!! GO YOU!

"My 'no' is a perfectly reasonable response to your request, and neither of us should be upset or surprised that this exchange is taking place."

I seriously want to put that on a poster and hang it in my office. I love it.

Man, oh man, have a great vacation! That sounds fantastic. I look forward to hearing your travelogue.

Seconding the "Go YOU!"

I just had the vacation conversation - with MY MOTHER - last week. She found out on Monday I was taking the week off, and immediately said "Come to my house and help me clean all the things!"

Now, those plates on that damn plate rail have been up there without cleaning for the better part of 5 years, I'd bet. She doesn't have to do it this week. And my DH is going back to work after being off with a minor back surgery for nearly 3 months, and won't have accumulated vacation time for A YEAR, and he's going stir-crazy. So this week is for US.
So naturally, she did an award-winning performance of poor neglected Mom. Which hasn't worked for two decades-you'd think she'd remember that....

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Don't give up the fight

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