Politics break to bring you some library love!

A new exhibit at the National Library in Paris offers a look at an archive of erotic art. I wonder if this exhibition would ever make it to the States hmmm.

“In an era where sexual images are a product for popular consumption, the library has decided to lift the veil on this world of imagination and fantasy,” Bruno Racine, the library director, said in an interview. “The library is a very serious institution, and the project was done with gravity. But we also perhaps are different from what you think — and there is humor here too.”

The items, on display through March 22, are drawn from a permanent collection created in the 1830s when the library isolated works considered “contrary to good morals.” They were put in a locked section with its own card catalog and given the name L’Enfer — hell. Many pieces have been consigned there over the years by the police for safeguarding, perhaps, and posterity. via

And the NYTimes also offered a great travel idea for people who love books, A Bookworm’s Holiday, right here in NYC. I never knew there was a hotel that was organized by the dewey decimal system right here in my own city. How cool is that! I definitely have to stop by the Library Hotel and check it out one of these days. It would be awesome to spend a night there.

I wonder how much the dailykos really had to do with it…

I hope a lot. We need some real activism now.

Seven years old today! It started on January 15, 2001.

And the internet hasn’t been the same since!

The NYTimes had a spot on article about masculinity in today’s times. It featured Chuck Norris (how he infused Huckabee’s campaign), Sylvester Stallone, and Hulk Hogan, three solid male protectors from the 1980s.

Indeed, at a time when the country is faced with a new tangle of problems, the return of the ’80s action hero suggests that some Americans, particularly men, are looking to revel in the vestigial pleasures of older times and seemingly simpler ways. (Witness the popularity of the best-selling “Dangerous Book for Boys,” a celebration of the traditional rugged joys of boyhood.)

The premise of the article is that men who are uneasy about new, complicated issues like the economy and the war are turning to older heroic, mythic figures from their childhood and youth. This is a compelling contrast to the media perpetuated notion that women are acting out unexpectedly in this election by choosing a male candidate (Obama) in Iowa over the female favorite (Clinton). Of course, this notion changed after New Hampshire primaries but still shows how in a time when change is the hott, new key word some of our population is trying to revert to an older, “simpler” time.

But Mr. Koops, speaking on Tuesday, New Hampshire primary day, said the appetite for these action figures represents more than a joke. Rather, it speaks to a sincere desire among some men — likely not Hillary Clinton supporters — to return to what he called “a comfort zone” symbolized by heroic characters of yore.

If I’m reading this correctly, Clinton voters represent those who are not seeking “a comfort zone.” At least not yet.

This article reminds me of a book last year Vietnam and Other Fantasies by Howard Bruce Franklin, a professor at Rutgers University Newark campus. Part of Franklin’s hypothesis was that the character of Rambo came about as a reaction to the Vietnam War and the anti American sentiment that followed it. President Reagan hailed the Rambo films as quite American and many men and other admirer’s followed suit and agreed, creating a phenomenon that carried well into the 1990s and into the twenty-first century. If shaky times are any sign of a desire to seek out old well-known historic figures worshiped, it is no wonder that shows like “Hogan Knows Best” are popular and celebrity endorsements via Chuck Norris carry significant weight. Ultimately, while women are gaining certain attention lately in the political arena, it is noteworthy to pay attention to how men, who were coming of age in the 1980s, are voting and reacting to this desire for change.

the amusements! AKA Andy and Sophie

Today their behavior has consisted of

• hiding in arm of the couch, scratching from the inside
• Peeing in their bed!
• Playing in the kitty litter, making a mess twice!

But yes the amusements  are cute and are worth the “trouble.”

Will be gone during Super Duper Tuesday to this magical place. I cannot believe how quickly I received my absentee ballot. When I did one for the 2004 election, it took two months plus for it to arrive. This one took maybe five days (including a weekend!) Maybe a good reason for living in the outer boroughs? Quick turnaround.

So now all I have to decide is who to vote for.  I am a registered democrat, so I’m relegated to choosing between Clinton, Obama, Edwards and a few others I don’t know much about.  Both Dodd and Richardson have subsequently dropped out. The latest developments have me curious as to who will ultimately win and how much my vote actually matters. The last primary I voted quickly for Kucinich because I wasn’t happy with the front runners then.  But now its four years later and its coming across that there is not such a  clear front runner.  I know Nevada will make a difference but I need to get in my ballot before then because I’m like that. I hope to have it out by Monday to give me the weekend to think it over.

I’m not into the whole binary Obama vs. Hillary way of thinking and still do consider Edwards to be a viable candidate. And I will always be a Kucinich girl but alas I need to make a decision.  I’ll be visiting the candidate’s web pages over the next few days to finalize my decision.

Side note: I totally should write up my opinions on this whole Clinton crying mess but honestly it seems so “over done” at this point. Maybe I will.  We’ll see.

88% Dennis Kucinich
87% John Edwards
86% Mike Gravel
82% Barack Obama
81% Hillary Clinton
79% Chris Dodd
77% Bill Richardson
75% Joe Biden
35% Rudy Giuliani
28% John McCain
21% Mike Huckabee
19% Mitt Romney
19% Tom Tancredo
14% Ron Paul
11% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

On saturday night, the husband and I went to the city to catch a movie and somehow we went to Petco and ended up coming home with a lot more than we bargained for.
Introducing Andy and Sophie!

Andy (top kitty) and Sophie (bottom kitty)

Andy chillin on the couch

Playtime

Nap time!

Side note: poor Iowans and New Hampshire people (I don’t know what to call them as a population), I’m sure their sick of reporters and all of the political people taking over their states.

Wow, the news (CNN in this house) is pretty crazy tonight! John McCain takes it and makes it looks like the repubs may have a viable candidate. Nothing against Huckabee.

And the the whole Obama vs. Clinton contest…its so close. Looks like Clinton is pulling it in but anything could happen…we shall see!

EDIT: They keep talking about how “women” “women” “women” are effecting the Obama/Clinton vote. But some dude is saying the word “women” like its a food he hasn’t ever really tried before  like the word “sushi” or “tapas.” He also says it like he can’t quite believe the word exists. HA.

This article from yesterday’s NYTimes magazine is a pretty good assessment of Americans’ attitudes toward Mormonism via Mitt Romney.

Yet the Mormons’ political loyalty is not fully reciprocated by their fellow Republicans. Twenty-nine percent of Republicans told the Harris Poll last year that they probably or definitely would not vote for a Mormon for president. Among evangelicals, some of the discomfort is narrowly religious: Mormon theology is sometimes understood as non-Christian and heretical. Elsewhere, the reasons for the aversion to Mormons are harder to pin down — bigotry can be funny that way — but they are certainly not theological. A majority of Americans have no idea what Mormons believe. Via

And of course, I am more than curious to find out what happens tomorrow in New Hampshire…We’ll see.

I am also weirded out by Romney’s new term for Obama as the “senator killer”…hmm yeahh. That’s not a calculated term at all.