Weekend Reads

Hey, turns out when you don't wait that many weeks in between these, there are fewer blogs to post! Here are the ones I found this week:

On Faith

The Hermeneutics of the Temple Action: Jesus, Empire, and Othering Violence by Richard Beck at Experimental Theology

Specifically, which situation best fits what Jesus was doing in his temple action? Was Jesus killing enemies of a foreign nation in a war to protect his country or protecting his family from a violent intruder? 

Or was Jesus using violence toward property in a protest to call his nation to collective repentance for its systemic oppression? 

On Art

33 of the Greatest Tony Performances of All Time at Buzzfeed

Just a lot of good performances here. Watch them!

Avengers actor doubles down on slut-shaming Black Widow, and it's not just a joke by Megan Farokhmanesh at Polgyon

But while Stark's and Star-Lord's promiscuous behavior is overlooked — even celebrated — and used as a way to demonstrate character growth, Black Widow's perceived romances with Hawkeye and Captain America (and even Tony Stark, if you count him eagerly ogling her upon her first Iron Man appearance) are used to slam her character. To be a "slut" these days, by Renner's reasoning, all you need is a close relationship with men; and when the team itself is composed entirely of Black Widow plus burly dudes, that definition becomes a trap. Black Widow is punished for her friendships and their intimacy, real or perceived. Meanwhile, Star-Lord and Stark enjoy casual sex openly, and nobody bats an eye.

How to Cast Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg at The Toast

Interesting things happen to people with bad bone structure, you know, and there’s something particularly ridiculous about watching Babe after Babe deliver the “poor, obscure, plain, and little” monologue to some smooth-faced Male Babe in a billowing cravat. 

Also, watching Michael H. Roosevelt Fassbender ask “Do you find me handsome?” and getting “no” for an answer was one of the most ridiculous cheats Hollywood ever attempted to perpetrate on my person, and if I ever meet him I will knock him down for making me sit through that scene. 

On Blogging

Is Blogging a Type of Lying? by Brittany at Palms and Palmettos

But part of me wonders if blogging is cheating. 

Is someone really a friend if they don’t know that awkward part of you? Even though blogging lets me, a naturally introverted and private person, discuss things on a very public forum- it’s still just my statement. I choose when and how and if to present something. That is, in fact, the number one thing I like about blogging- the choice and thought involved. I can have control over how I am seen. 

I have no idea how people view me in the real world. But from what I know…it’s usually not at all what I am trying to project. I feel misunderstood a large majority of the time.

On Illness

Empathy Cards for Serious Illnesses by Emily McDowell

I think Empathy Cards are the most important things I’ve designed so far, and they’re some of my personal favorites. It’s not often that you look at a greeting card and think, “The world needs this,” but in this case, I really believe that’s true.

Some Controversial Stuff

Stop Praying for Peace in Baltimore by Ben Irwin

You want “peace” in Baltimore—by which you mean you don’t want to see any more cop cars burning on TV—but you don’t want to do anything to fix a system where people have no other way to make themselves heard? 

Then what you want isn’t peace. What you want is for your privilege to remain untouched.

Invisible Women: Why Marvel's Gamora & Black Widow Were Missing From the Merchandise, and What We Can Do About It by Annie N. Mouse at The Mary Sue

I’d entered the comics industry because I was a comics fan. It hurt to see so plainly that to Disney, people like me didn’t matter. My demographic was already giving them money anyway, with Disney Princess purchases. Even now, there’s no incentive to make more Marvel merch for women, because we already buy Brave and Frozen products.

Humor

Women Trying to Politely End Conversations With Men In Western Art History by Mallory Ortberg at The Toast

oh darling i’d love to sit and join youbut as you know i have aterriblesitting conditionas do all the women in my familyso instead i have to stand and also leave

Ranking the Metaphors in Song of Solomon by Tyler Huckabee

What I picture happening here is this guy thought he’d really nailed it by comparing her to a pomegranate (forgetting that he’d already used that line, which we’ll get to in a moment) and then, when her eyes drooped a bit because he’s clearly running low on metaphors, he just decides to compare her to “all choicest fruits,” which doesn’t really cut it either because that’s just lazy. 

So then he says she’s like henna with nard, and now she’s just looking bored, so he tries nard and saffron, which doesn’t work either. His final hail mary is to just start naming every scent he’s ever heard of. “Calamus? Cinnamon? Frankincense? Myrrh? Aloes? ALL SPICES?”

Weekend Watches

Ryan Gosling Won't Eat His Cereal (2013-2014 Vine Compilation) - The creator of this meme recently passed away, so I made sure to go watch and save the compilation of the vines. They're ridiculous but so very silly and fun.

Fun In Balloon Land - Cinema Snob - Cinema Snob reviews this extremely bizarre movie about... parades and balloons, I guess. There's apparently a RiffTrax download available too, and I am almost certainly going to have to do that.