Top Gun the Musical

Step for Mental Health Care?

So FINALLY, according to the New York Times the House has passed a bill that requires insurance companies to provide mental health insurance parity, meaning that mental illness must be treated on par with physical illness. And the insurance companies, obviously, are PISSED!
This, in my opinion, represents a huge step in US mental health rights. Even with good insurance (which I lack, but whatever) being less than totally sane is extremely expensive in this country. So, good going!

The bill would ban insurance companies from setting lower limits on treatment for mental health problems than on treatment for physical problems, including doctor visits and hospital stays. It would also disallow higher co-payments.

I mean, obviously, I am still waiting until there is national health care but till then, I am pleased with this in principle.

I guess the Senate passed a more limited version of this sort of bill last fall, which Mr. Bush prefers because he thinks the new one includes too broad a list of disorders.

The House bill would require insurance companies that offer mental health benefits to cover treatment for the hundreds of diagnoses included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, from paranoid schizophrenia to stuttering to insomnia to chronic melancholy, or dysthymia.

The Bush administration and other opponents say the list of disorders is far too broad. That leads from parity to another, parallel morass in the fields of psychiatry and pharmacology. Both fields are accused of over-diagnosis and of seizing on fashionable diagnoses — bipolar disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder, for example — for financial gain or through highly subjective assessments.

Mental illnesses are over diagnosed. Old fucking news. This does not mean that people who ACTUALLY live with these diseases do not deserve care.

Feministing's Samhita has a great post about the prison industrial complex at The Nation. Check it out.

"Girls Rock" Looks Super Bad Ass!!!

Oh my goodness. I wish I could have gone to this camp when I was 11. To think of the years of therapy I could have been spared...

No, seriously though. this documentary looks amazing. Basically, a rock camp for girls (of a pretty large age range) that seems to focus on bringing their self esteem up instead of pushing it down and encourages individuality instead if conformity and general mundaneness.

Furthermore, it seems to be pushing for music that is actually cool, based on the soundtrack and samples from the girls' music.

I am so excited. I can't wait. When I have daughters, they are definitely going to this camp.

This trailer totally made me tear up. I think I am going to watch it five more times now.

I was always under the impression that stupid, idiot, offensive people were usually under the impression that they are actually smarter than everyone else.

Not Charlotte Allen.

In her article, published in the Washington Post last Sunday, Allen writes about how maybe we should just give up on this who feminism thing and relinquish the brains to the men. She also says that she neither add two and two nor count the shoes in her closet.

"I can't help it, but reading about such episodes of screaming, gushing and swooning makes me wonder whether women -- I should say, "we women," of course -- aren't the weaker sex after all. Or even the stupid sex, our brains permanently occluded by random emotions, psychosomatic flailings and distraction by the superficial. Women "are only children of a larger growth," wrote the 18th-century Earl of Chesterfield. Could he have been right?"

Oh, and here is another gem.

The theory that women are the dumber sex -- or at least the sex that gets into more car accidents -- is amply supported by neurological and standardized-testing evidence. Men's and women's brains not only look different, but men's brains are bigger than women's (even adjusting for men's generally bigger body size). The important difference is in the parietal cortex, which is associated with space perception. Visuospatial skills, the capacity to rotate three-dimensional objects in the mind, at which men tend to excel over women, are in turn related to a capacity for abstract thinking and reasoning, the grounding for mathematics, science and philosophy. While the two sexes seem to have the same IQ on average (although even here, at least one recent study gives males a slight edge), there are proportionally more men than women at the extremes of very, very smart and very, very stupid.

She later said the article was tongue in cheek.

Hella Cuteness!

I wish this was my kid

Thanks Feministing

You Wanna Be On Top?

Ok, seeing as this is the first time I have ever actually watched America's Next Top Model in proper weekly fashion I have decided to live blog this episode. Especially since all my pretentious friends refused to watch it with me and let me to drink by myself. Thanks by the way...

So to get started....

I got super stoned and a little drunk. I watched two episodes of Bad Girl Club and about a half hour of the film version my favourite musical, Rent. I texted my boyfriend some cryptic messages (which were actually just lyrics from Rent/the ANTM theme song, “you Wanna Be on Top”.) I think he though that either he was on acid, I was on acid or I was a big dork. I am pretty sure he just assumed the third option.

So. About the episode...


Several points:

1.) The school girl outfits– totally ridiculous. So infantalizing. Aren’t these women mostly over 20?

2.) Really liked Marvita... until she was totally insensitive to the subject of FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

3.) I super like Lauren’s look. Like of like Sarah Polley or someone Canadian. Also I love that she said she’s be perfectly happy at home watching home watching zombie movies

Oh!!! Crazy former ANTM cheerleaders!!!!!! So excited to see the twins!!!! Although I hated the uniforms, was super bored with the tired school girl fetish and I wished that Heather was there. Although she probably has cooler things to do. Like be cool and shit.

Tyra as the “homecoming queen” disturbing and creepy and homicidal. Like Carrie. She said she slept with all their boyfriends. Cougar. Just kidding

So much fighting. I have never seen so much fighting on a first episode.

Also, an aspiring lap dancer

So now for the serious stuff...

Fatima went though female genital mutilation. She said that winning the competition will give her a voice.

Even though ANTMs never really get anywhere....

But at least she might get to talk about it on the show. She was mutilated when she was seven.

Holy fucking hell.

Oh my God! One of the women is actually drinking her own breast milk!!!!!! So that her baby will be able to continue feeding when she comes home. Super bizarre!!! Kind of sweet but kind of weird!!!!

Curse of the Bro

Ok, first off, I cannot believe I am about to blog about sports.

So, those of you who watched the Superbowl on Sunday (or heard about it) know that people are generally ecstatic or depressed about Tom Brady's poor performance. What I am personally annoyed at is the fact that people are attributing it to the Curse of the Babe, the fact that Giselle Bundchen is super hot. Just like Jessica Simpson caused the Cowboys to lose by the simple fact of her presence. Eva Longoria dealt with the same thing.

I think this "theory" carries over to other scenarios as well. Rarely are my paired-off guy friends completely blamed for their actions- their girlfriends usually get the rap for whatever they have done to piss other people off (go home early, go to bed early, not get totally shit faced drunk.)

Because it isn't possible that a man could ever be responsible for any failure without the help of a woman- how else would have Adam gotten hold of the apple?

SUPER SEXIST MOVIE ALERT!!!

This one stars Paris Hilton.
First: since when does she act?
Second: super sexist/ridiculous movie
Third: WTF is the world coming to? Oh right... general dickheadery... as usual.

UPDATE!

Wait, now the Afgan senate has withdrawn the death sentence confirmation. You can also sign a petition to save him here.