We’re gonna need a bigger boat…

No, not the novel yet. That is still doing the rounds of publishers. I’ll be squealing when that comes out and you’ll hear me from wherever you are.

I’m on several pages in Imperfectly Natural Baby and Toddler by Janey Lee Grace.  If you see a copy check out pages 26, 27 and 111. There are other mentions but those are the big bits.

My complimentary copy landed on the mat this morning. I’m well chuffed.  

I know I have a diverse and often feminist readership here so I want to throw out a challenge.

If I were to be able to hand you an unspoiled location, for example a whole new planet to colonise and told you that it was to be run along Feminist political lines, how would it work? - You’re in charge!  I want ideas, politics, governmental style, who gets to be in charge and how, what place do people have there.

Criteria: 

• The colony has to be self sustaining
• There have to be children (population sustainability)
• The colony has to be isolated and/or independent.

Off you go…

I have a writing project brewing and some of the ideas I get both here and in a couple of other places may well get included! 

Playing with Google. Type *your name* and needs into the search box and see what comes up. It’s fun. Apparently I need:

• You
• Us
• to hand him one of those weapons that went off without warning
• to get her life back and establish herself as the person in charge
• to kick him in the nuts
• A cold shower
• Your help
• new earrings

Go pop some bubble wrap.

It’s virtual bubble wrap, no waste and no landfill….

Have fun! 

By the lovely Witchy Woo. What? You think i have nothing better to do with my day off? I have no kids here, a book to write, garden to clear, kitchen to tidy……

And you have me doing this meme thing.   Some days you really do know who your friends are………

So, what did you want to know?  

A - Available or Single? Currently single, but not really available either.

B - Best Friend? Depends on what for and what day it is!

C - Cake or Pie? Cake. Chocolate. 

D - Drink of Choice? Tea. Earl Grey, hot with milk. Fair trade and organic.

E - Essential Item? You know there is not much that would cause me to die if it were missing. I’d struggle without my car, I’d hate it without my puter. But life would carry on. I guess my kettle is my essential item!

F - Favorite Color? Green. Closely followed by purple, red is nice too, and yellow, blue can be good…. Oh, give me a RAINBOW.

G - Gummi Bears or Worms? Neither. They’re both yuck. Jelly babies are good but chocolate is the BEST.

H - Hometown? Currently physically in Derbyshire. But home is where me and my kids are.

I - Indulgence? Puter. It’s here for my business but I love it. It is a window on the world for me. A route to friendship and support that I wouldn’t otherwise get.

J - January or February? Neither. 

K - Kids? I love kids, but I couldn’t eat a whole one….

L - Life is incomplete without… friends

M - Marriage Date? nope

N - Number of Siblings? One younger brother, now deceased.

O - Oranges or Apples? Bananas, strawberries….

P - Phobias/Fears? Lots of things scare me.

Q - Favorite Quote. “They’re taking the hobbits to Isengard…" - Legolas Greenleaf - I’m feeling light today, no deep quotes.

R - Reasons to smile. Music in my home, my kids laughing, the smell of fresh cut grass, fresh dug soil, the feel if soil on my hands, the sight of those first spikes of green pushing through the soil…. There are many reasons to smile.

S - Season? They each have their own appeal. The quiet sleeping of winter, the warmth of summer, the colours and smell of autumn. Right now it’s spring. I love spring. See Reasons to Smile…

T - Tag Three. Immi, Claire, Kris. And I bet none of them will notice…

U - Unknown Fact About Me. I’m not telling you lot!

V – Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? Cold blooded killer and oppressor of animal kind - coz they are YUMMY.

W - Worst Habit? I am a paragon of virtue I’ll have you know….

X – X-rays or Ultrasounds? Neither. Both are invasive in their own way and over used.

Y - Your Favorite Foods? Food is good. Home grown, straight from the soil, only barely clean is best. Otherwise, depends on my mood, time of day, time of the month, time of year…. You get the idea?

Z - Zodiac? Chinese or Western? I’m a piscean rooster!

Found this. Had to share. I bet everyone else has seen it before, but I hadn’t.

The Male Privilege Checklist

1. My odds of being hired for a job, when competing against female applicants, are probably skewed in my favor. The more prestigious the job, the larger the odds are skewed.
2. I can be confident that my co-workers won’t think I got my job because of my sex - even though that might be true.
3. If I am never promoted, it’s not because of my sex.
4. If I fail in my job or career, I can feel sure this won’t be seen as a black mark against my entire sex’s capabilities.
5. The odds of my encountering sexual harassment on the job are so low as to be negligible.
6. If I do the same task as a woman, and if the measurement is at all subjective, chances are people will think I did a better job.
7. If I’m a teen or adult, and if I can stay out of prison, my odds of being raped are so low as to be negligible.
8. I am not taught to fear walking alone after dark in average public spaces.
9. If I choose not to have children, my masculinity will not be called into question.
10. If I have children but do not provide primary care for them, my masculinity will not be called into question.
11. If I have children and provide primary care for them, I’ll be praised for extraordinary parenting if I’m even marginally competent.
12. If I have children and pursue a career, no one will think I’m selfish for not staying at home.
13. If I seek political office, my relationship with my children, or who I hire to take care of them, will probably not be scrutinized by the press.
14. Chances are my elected representatives are mostly people of my own sex. The more prestigious and powerful the elected position, the more likely this is to be true.
15. I can be somewhat sure that if I ask to see "the person in charge," I will face a person of my own sex. The higher-up in the organization the person is, the surer I can be.
16. As a child, chances are I was encouraged to be more active and outgoing than my sisters.
17. As a child, I could choose from an almost infinite variety of children’s media featuring positive, active, non-stereotyped heroes of my own sex. I never had to look for it; male heroes were the default.
18. As a child, chances are I got more teacher attention than girls who raised their hands just as often.
19. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether or not it has sexist overtones.
20. I can turn on the television or glance at the front page of the newspaper and see people of my own sex widely represented, every day, without exception.
21. If I’m careless with my financial affairs it won’t be attributed to my sex.
22. If I’m careless with my driving it won’t be attributed to my sex.
23. I can speak in public to a large group without putting my sex on trial.
24. If I have sex with a lot of people, it won’t make me an object of contempt or derision.
25. There are value-neutral clothing choices available to me; it is possible for me to choose clothing that doesn’t send any particular message to the world.
26. My wardrobe and grooming are relatively cheap and consume little time.
27. If I buy a new car, chances are I’ll be offered a better price than a woman buying the same car.
28. If I’m not conventionally attractive, the disadvantages are relatively small and easy to ignore.
29. I can be loud with no fear of being called a shrew. I can be aggressive with no fear of being called a bitch.
30. I can ask for legal protection from violence that happens mostly to men without being seen as a selfish special interest, since that kind of violence is called "crime" and is a general social concern. (Violence that happens mostly to women is usually called "domestic violence" or "acquaintance rape," and is seen as a special interest issue.)
31. I can be confident that the ordinary language of day-to-day existence will always include my sex. "All men are created equal…," mailman, chairman, freshman, he.
32. My ability to make important decisions and my capability in general will never be questioned depending on what time of the month it is.
33. I will never be expected to change my name upon marriage or questioned if i don’t change my name.
34. The decision to hire me will never be based on assumptions about whether or not I might choose to have a family sometime soon.
35. Every major religion in the world is led primarily by people of my own sex. Even God, in most major religions, is usually pictured as being male.
36. Most major religions argue that I should be the head of my household, while my wife and children should be subservient to me.
37. If I have a wife or girlfriend, chances are we’ll divide up household chores so that she does most of the labor, and in particular the most repetitive and unrewarding tasks.
38. If I have children with a wife or girlfriend, chances are she’ll do most of the childrearing, and in particular the most dirty, repetitive and unrewarding parts of childrearing.
39. If I have children with a wife or girlfriend, and it turns out that one of us needs to make career sacrifices to raise the kids, chances are we’ll both assume the career sacrificed should be hers.
40. Magazines, billboards, television, movies, pornography, and virtually all of media is filled with images of scantily-clad women intended to appeal to me sexually. Such images of men exist, but are much rarer.
41. I am not expected to spend my entire life 20-40 pounds underweight.
42. If I am heterosexual, it’s incredibly unlikely that I’ll ever be beaten up by a spouse or lover.
43. I have the privilege of being unaware of my male privilege.