University of Georgia Institute of Women's Studies

I am a graduate student at the University of Georgia completing an MA in Religion. I am also working on a graduate certificate in Women's Studies.

I went to Converse College for my undergraduate degree. At Converse, I was surrounded by women who truly wanted to learn. These women were articulate and poised, and some of the most intelligent women I have ever known. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a perfect learning environment. Some of the bureaucracy got in the way of the education there (like a series of bronze statues placed around a campus instead of convincing those donors to use that money to renovate the older dormitories). But the learning environment was strong.

The University of Georgia has a unique opportunity to make a statement showing their support of the ever growing Women's Studies department on campus. The building the department is currently in shambles. I am working currently on my second and third WMST courses, neither of which are housed in the Benson Building, the Women's Studies building on South Campus. This building is an embarrassment to the University of Georgia. It's dilapidated and falling apart. The building is full of mold, asbestos, and rats. Its one classroom is set up in an awkward fashion based on its size and does not lend itself to learning. The room for the library is insufficient in size and seats relatively few students. Most of the classes taught under the WMST title are taught outside of the building, and many are taught completely across campus. The building is not easily accessible from any of the major bus routes.

A petition is circulating on the Internet calling on the University to act on this matter. Please take the time to review and sign this petition.

Petition
Article from the Red and Black

"Glitter in the Gutter" - Jesse Malin

So in my last post I discussed Jesse Malin's performance prior to Butch Walker's show at Center Stage in July. I bought Malin's "Glitter in the Gutter" (hereafter called "GITG") probably the day after that post. I am in love with this album (proven easily by the fact that Jesse Malin jumped into the "Top Ten" Artists on my last.fm stats).

Malin's a lot like Butch Walker in that something is definitely lost from his live performance when his music appears on an album. Honestly, I need to buy Malin's "Mercury Retrograde" to see what a live album sounds like. I don't remember him being as nasal live as he seems to be on GITG. As I've been typing this, I downloaded his first album (2003) "The Fine Art of Self-Destruction" on Amazon (sorry Jesse, I know how much you dislike iTunes/Amazon/etc. and what it's done to local mom&pop records stores--I just couldn't wait). Already it doesn't sound nearly as nasal as GITG. But let's not get bogged down on this...

So even with less energy than a live performance, Malin still rocks my socks on GITG. I purchased the Deluxe edition which includes the tracks "Megan Don't Know" and "Gimme a Revolution". Starting out with "Don't Let Them Take You Down (Beautiful Day!)" is perfect for this album, which for me is a non-stop, upbeat musical experience. Not that there isn't anything subdued on the album--"Lucinda" slows down some of the forward movement of the album, and his cover of The Replacements' "Bastards of Young" makes you stop and truly listen. The peak of the album (if albums have a shape like they teach you in English class: exposition, rising action, climax, blah blah blah) for me is "Little Star". I flippin' love this song. I loved it live and I love it on the album. I can't help but dance in my chair every time it comes on. "Prisoners of Paradise", "Tomorrow Tonight", and "In The Modern World" are three other personal favorites.

There isn't one track on this album I purposely skip over because it sucks or doesn't flow with the album. BUY IT. And try to buy it new if you can--Jesse Malin deserves support for putting out such fabulous music. And for being an absolute sweetheart to his fans.

Here are some places you can support Malin:
Official Website
Myspace
Facebook

I'll try to post something that doesn't relate to Jesse Malin or Butch Walker soon. I do listen to other music (see the aforementioned last.fm profile). My recently purchased albums have included XTC's "Nonsuch", Sara Bareilles' "Little Voice", and the "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" Soundtrack.

Speaking of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog", if you haven't seen it then SHAME ON YOU! :)

Butch Walker with Jesse Malin

Sorry for the terrible hiatus y'all. I have no good excuse so I won't make up a bad one.

Went with Ryan to see Butch Walker and Jesse Malin at Center Stage in Atlanta last night. If you're a Butch Walker fan in the Metro ATL area and you weren't at one of his two shows this week, shame on you. It honestly was the best performance I've seen.

Doors opened at 8; show started at 9. Jesse Malin played for about 45-50 minutes from songs from songs from his three main solo albums. Songs included Wendy, Brooklyn, Hotel Columbia, Black Haired Girl, Bastards of Young (which he came out into the audience for, and had the standing-room only audience sit on the floor during), and Riding on the Subway. Jesse was very engaging on stage. He played guitar primarily and was accompanied by a very pretty, very talented female piano player (whose name is escaping me and I feel like a total jerk). This was the first time I'd ever heard his music, and I was very impressed. Butch and Darren came out to accompany him during one of his songs, which was really cool.

After Jesse's set (during Butch's "When Canyons Ruled the World" - not my favorite song, so I went to get some air), I wandered out into the lobby and he was selling merch and signing autographs. I grabbed Ryan and we introduced ourselves. He pointed to my "chai"necklace and remarked that he was "a member of that Tribe!" Fabulous :). I asked him to sign my ticket and he was very nice about it, signing both of our tickets. I felt bad about not buying a CD or at least a button, but given that these were the most expensive Butch tickets I've ever paid for... AND how stupid-expensive gas has gotten , this graduate student didn't have the means. In spite of being the tool who asks for an autograph and then is like "kthxbai you're awesome" without buying anything, he gave each of us a new sticker from his "Glitter and the Gutter" album (very glittery and shiny; will probably be going on my car today) So yeah I've been Googling/Myspacing/Wikipedia-ing/Etc.-ing Jesse Malin all morning and will definitely be getting some of his music soon.

Now, onto Butch. OHHH man, I was not prepared for how awesome this concert turned out to be. It started around 10 PM and began with Butch solo for several songs. He was playing songs off his heavily anticipated album "Sycamore Meadows", including Vessels, Atlanta, and 3 Kids in Brooklyn. He played many other new songs, reading the lyrics because some of them were that new. He gave us a taste of what the "One Man Bad" tour would have been like (oh and other than citing "personal reasons" he did not elaborate on why the tour was canceled) by looping several instruments on stage and playing an entire song himself - quite hilarious. He played Mixtape (and Diary of a San Fernando Sexx Star I think - he may have done it with TLGOT's) and Joan as part of his solo set and for fun invited several fans up on stage during Grant Park to play as his band.

After a little over an hour, The-Let's-Go-Out-Tonite's! came out with him and played. Songs included Uncomfortably Numb, The Taste of Red, #1 Summer Jam, Maybe It's Just Me, Best Thing You Never Had, Don't Move, and Race Cars and Goth Rock (with the requisite explanation about his ex-wife--a funnier, tighter version of the story). TLGOT's seemed much tighter on stage than during previous shows. There was a new guitar player and a new percussionist (think rock tambourine)/slide guitar player. Darren Dodd, Wes Flowers, and Randy Michael were there. Fran Capitinelli played on a few tracks with him (I think it was Fran - it was someone off "Letters"). The show was really gearing up when Butch gave the band a break.

Butch went to the piano and began a lengthy narrative of the history of the Marvelous 3, discussing how he, Slug, and Jayce came to be a band (including practicing in the FOP building in Rome, haha). He then segued from the conversation into the beginning of Cigarette Lighter Love Song. He began the song on the piano, as he had for the Tabernacle show last April. When he moved to the mic to bring the band back, Slug and Jayce came out. At least 50 sets of eyeballs fell out from the shock. There was a collective intake from the audience followed by the loudest scream imaginable. They finished the song and also played Indie Queen (which took Butch a second to work out on his guitar, lol). Slug and Jayce then left and TLGOT's came back out. It was disappointing to see them play for so short of a time, but given that I became a Butch fan after the Marvelous 3 broke up, it was an amazing experience to see them play together. Butch played a little longer and left the stage. For the encore he played one song: When Canyons Ruled The World. He had the audience sing along round-style. The band left the stage and he stayed out for the standing ovation.

Ultimately, it was a fabulous show. We stayed afterwards in hopes of saying hey to Butch, but it didn't end up happening. We met several very nice fans both in line and after the show. In total, I had three separate drinks spilled on me, so it was the total rock experience. As I said earlier, I was disappointed that the Marvelous 3 didn't play longer (and that my camera died before they came out!!! gah). Or even better would have been to continue turning back the clock and have Chrystina Lloree come out for some Floyds Funk Revival/The Floyds goodness. I would have liked to have heard more songs off “The Rise and Fall…” as well. Furthermore, he didn’t play one 1969 song, and I would have liked to have heard a few of those songs live. All those criticisms aside, we had a fabulous time. Jesse Malin was the first opener for Butch that I didn’t sit through asking myself “When the hell is this guy gonna shut up so Butch can start.” Jesse was absolutely worth hearing and I’d love to see him play again (or with Butch! A collaborative work between them would freakin’ rock too!). Butch’s voice was perfect – he was hitting notes I didn’t know he could hit! I’m totally stoked for the fall tour now and can’t wait for “Sycamore Meadows” to come out.

I'll leave you with my copy of his audience participation version of Grant Park. The quality of the video is total crap; I apologize in advance. You get the point though (it gets brighter after the first 2 minutes or so).

two new blogs

i added two blogs today that i've failed to mention, so here goes:

The Mixocologist - I was first introduced to The Mixocologist by my friend Becca in the dorms at Converse College. If you're interested in the bar scene in Columbia, great drinking stories, or stream-of-conscious storytelling, go here. trust me, you'll enjoy it.

Overheard in Athens - pretty self-explanatory. People send in snippets of conversation they hear in the Athens area. If nothing else, this blog serves as an ego boost for the reader, because at least you're not as dumb as the people they're quoting.

what i've been up to

this summer has been rather insane. between classes, work, and planning for school this fall, i've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off. monday nights have been spent at Walker's Pub in downtown Athens with the girls, the gays, and the fiancée (and the occasional non-aligned heterosexual male). dollar wine night is the best idea ever.

i've been cooking a lot. kind of got inspired by a local blog which y'all definitely should check out:

Recipes for a Postmodern Planet

Sarah Beam, the author of the blog, is fantastic. she posts wonderful recipes along with disucussions of her day-to-day activities. and the pictures of her son are adorable :). i found her blog when i was looking for a recipe of the Flying Biscuit's Creamy Dreamy White Cheddar Grits (btw if you live in the greater Atlanta area and you haven't been to the Flying Biscuit, get your tuchas in gear. i prefer the one in Candler Park). I made the grits and Sarah's recipe for french toast for dinner last nite. you can find both of those recipes here.

in other food news, i decided to make salsa verde this weekend. not a huge batch, just about 6-8 ounces. needless to say, ryan and i killed the entire bowl in about 30 minutes. so i made more yesterday. i used this recipe, and it's fantabulous. i added a bit of extra cilantro and jalapeños, just because i like that extra flavor. but seriously, try it. i may have some for breakfast in an egg burrito!

New blog

Hey y'all it's been a while. Not much to say. Been spending a few days in NE Ohio, Munroe Falls to be exact.

Honestly the only reason I'm typing right now is to post a new blog, from a good friend Caraleigh Brady. She and a few friends are taking a worldwide trip right now and are posting pictures, commentary, etc. on a semi-daily basis. So far they've been to Amman and Bangalore. Other than that I have no idea where they are going. Check it out HERE. I'm also adding it as a link to the side.

Hope y'all had a great Christmahanukwanzikkadanyulefestivus (I really need to figure out a way of incorporating those last two in there....). I'll prolly start updating again once school starts back up (Jan. 8).

IMPORTANT NEWS FLASH!!!!

Poor Sir Elton (taken from here):

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Elton John's latest Australian tour got off to an inauspicious start when the British pop superstar had to leave the stage briefly to be sick, local media reported Monday.

John was about to perform "Crocodile Rock," one of the most popular songs of his four-decade career, Sunday when he felt unwell and left the stage in Brisbane for about five minutes.

"I thought I'd better chunder (vomit) in the toilet than all over the front row," Australian Associated Press quoted John as telling his audience of 15,000 fans.

John, 59, is making his 12th tour of Australia and had been on stage for about two hours when he became ill. He returned to the stage for another 45 minutes without further inconvenience.

A tour spokeswoman said the veteran entertainer had been suffering from an upset stomach.

"He got it out and got on with it," the spokeswoman said.

I hope I never do that while teaching......

Mr. T is alright with me

I missed the whole A-Team thing. I was one when the show went off the air, and it was never something my parents were really into. So, when I see Mr. T on TV, yeah I usually giggle. I mean, even away from the A-Team, his character is fun, and if nothing else memorable ("I Pity the Fool!")

This morning I was checking the TV Guide online to try to find something to watch and I saw a link to this article. The link to the article said something like "Mr. T shows no interest in doing an A-Team movie." I went to the article with a pissed "stupid Hollywood actors" mentality and I was pleasantly surprised to find out I was wrong. Mr. T actually had good reason for not wanting to do the film. But that is not why I'm posting about Mr. T.

Mr. T is known for wearing massive amounts of bling at all times (my favorite nod to that has to be the Friends episode ("The One With The Prom Video") where Joey gives Chandler a watch: "Yeah, it's easy for you to say, you don't have to walk around sporting some reject from the Mr. T collection. I pity the fool that puts on my jewelry...I do, I do... I pity the fool that..."). I'd noticed recently he'd stopped doing that, but I really hadn't thought anything of it. TV Guide apparently noticed too

TVGuide.com: How come you don't wear the gold chains anymore?
Mr. T: That happened after Hurricane Katrina. Watching the people suffering, I said I would never wear my gold again, because it wouldn't be right. I want people to know I have a heart of gold, not just the gold around my neck.

Y'know, most people will probably read that and roll their eyes. I know tons of people that helped out in their own small ways during that crisis. And if this is how Mr. T felt he needed to Hurricane Katrina, then that's cool with me. Good job, Mr. T. Others may not appreciate your gesture, but I do