Books, Poetry, Politics, RattleBag and Rhubarb, The Sex Wars

When Milton met Galileo

I chanced upon this painting of the meeting between Galileo and John Milton and had a flashback to undergraduate days and the anthology we were required to buy and lug around (and possibly read.) It was  American, very heavy, very expensive, and full of all kinds of interesting but rather dense texts. I remember the pages were flimsy thin, and…

Continue Reading

Politics, RattleBag and Rhubarb, The Sex Wars

Reasons To Be Cheerful

So much gloom, doom, and disaster that it’s important to find counterbalances. Here are a few recent bright spots. Glasgow and Bristol and the USA By all accounts, the Standing For Women event in Glasgow went extremely well. The videos show that the turnout was strong and many women were able to tell their stories. The opposition to women speaking…

Continue Reading

Politics, RattleBag and Rhubarb, The Sex Wars

New York City and Free Speech Not Welcome

Yesterday I took my stickybeaking self downtown to City Hall Park where Standing for Women was holding an event. You can read more about it elsewhere, but the basic idea of these events is a public setup with loudspeakers and the opportunity for any woman who wants to say something about issues affecting women to take the mike. Because many…

Continue Reading

RattleBag and Rhubarb, The Sex Wars

The Intersectional Cellar Door

I once shared the idea that ‘cellar door’ was considered by some to be the most beautiful sounding phrase in the English language. The sixth grade thought this was ridiculous and soon put me right. I remember  “holy macaroni” being one of their top contenders. Language changes and feelings about words change. Even the most prescriptive linguist knows that. It’s…

Continue Reading