[Snark Warning] It never ceases to amaze me how the act of expressing an opinion opens you up to the most outlandish assumptions about your personality. Good girls, I know, don’t blog. Or at least, they don’t blog about anything substantial, and they definitely don’t do it using their real names. Blogging about your personal …
Category Archive: writing
Feb 08 2012
Criticizing is Not Complaining
Most bloggers expect and receive their fair share of stupid comments. It’s kind of an occupational hazard. However, one recurring theme I see in comments–both on my writing and that of other opinion writers–disappoints me the most. That theme is always some variation on the following: “Sure, this is a problem. But it’s not worth …
Feb 01 2012
Depressed on Shabbos
[TMI Warning] This past weekend, I participated in an overnight retreat with a Jewish education program I’m involved in called the Maimonides Leaders Fellowship. In Jewish parlance, the trip is called a shabbaton as it takes place over the weekly holiday of Shabbat (“Shabbos” is the Ashkenazi variant of the word, in case you’re confused). On …
Dec 31 2011
Storytelling
(Or: Massive Annual New Year’s Eve Note, Vol. 5) [TMI Warning] Many psychologists believe that it’s not what happens to us that matters, it’s the stories we tell ourselves about what happens. Some people unfortunately interpret this to mean that we ought to “look on the bright side of life” and “find the silver lining” …
Jun 06 2011
Winter/Summer
It’s hard for me to believe that it’s already summer. The signs are all there–I can wear my favorite clothes again, I keep my windows open, and the humid air envelops me and makes me feel safe, even at night. There are packing boxes everywhere and the dorms are slowly emptying out… But in my …
Feb 03 2010
Bookman's Heaven
Note: This short piece has the rather unusual (for me, anyways) distinction of having achieved a grade of 100% in my journalism class, which I’m very proud of and happy about, so I hope you enjoy it too. If history were a place, it would be Bookman’s Alley. A fixture of Evanston, Illinois for the …
About the Author
Brute Reason Tumblr
- "But what if our lives could have meaning even if we cannot, or will not, think of ourselves as..."“But what if our lives could have meaning even if we cannot, or will not, think of ourselves as beautiful? What if I look in the mirror and see ugliness, and imperfection, and asymmetry, and I choose to value and love myself anyway, because I’m a valuable human being worth a whole lot more than my externality? This is not to say that those of us who do feel […]
- "I want my feminism to be a feminism of daydreaming. I want my feminism to believe in the..."“I want my feminism to be a feminism of daydreaming. I want my feminism to believe in the transformative power of imagining the impossible. I want my feminism to stop chasing this faux equality that puts us on the race to be better managers of exclusion and, instead, gives us the possibility of re-thinking a future where we no longer have underclasses within […]
- "When it comes to media pushing perfect people, if you’re not skeptical, you’re doing it..."“When it comes to media pushing perfect people, if you’re not skeptical, you’re doing it wrong. The only right way to do it is with deep, trigger-happy skepticism. It’s advertising — which means it’s supposed to make you want something. That alone makes it squirrelly as fuck. If you don’t train your brain to see that first and foremost, and to move cautiousl […]
- "It’s when you’re kickin’ it with your boys and you don’t speak up (or maybe even join in) when the..."“It’s when you’re kickin’ it with your boys and you don’t speak up (or maybe even join in) when the one dude is being called a “bitch” or a “pussy” because he didn’t hit on the girl you saw. It’s knowing street harassment is wrong but also knowing that you let your eyes linger way longer than was comfortable for her when she walked by you in those yoga pants […]
- "What may seem like ‘productive discussion’ or ‘lively debate’ feels like an attack on your identity..."“What may seem like ‘productive discussion’ or ‘lively debate’ feels like an attack on your identity and validity as a human being when it comes from a person in a position of power who is telling you how to react to something that upset you. When a disabled woman, for example, expresses anger about something that is going on in the news and nondisabled peop […]
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Two things to keep in mind:
1. I am bad at answering lengthy emails. Sorry!
2. I may ask you for permission to blog about our correspondence. However, if you are harassing/abusive/trollish, then I no longer have to ask you for permission. Proceed with caution!
Two things to keep in mind:
1. I am bad at answering lengthy emails. Sorry!
2. I may ask you for permission to blog about our correspondence. However, if you are harassing/abusive/trollish, then I no longer have to ask you for permission. Proceed with caution!
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