Homelessness in Arlington, VA

Speaking Up & Out

I am the gift. Even if it took me a while to see it. 

Though I am not a fan of cable news, I was recently floored by the intensity of MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry, a fellow survivor of sexual assault, in her open letter to yet another asinine politician who thinks he has the right to tell women what to do with their bodies. 

More women & men, in & out of the media, need to stand up to these bullies. 

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I am all for religion as a guiding principle in life, but when you want to force your religious beliefs onto someone else - as Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock would like to do - especially someone who has already been violated, you are not good enough to lead anyone anywhere at anytime, ever. 

I can imagine the joy I will feel & how amazing it will be when I one day have a baby with an awesome partner. But already knowing how it feels to be sexually violated, I cannot believe that some men, and even some women, think they have the right to dictate when I should conceive, and that the father could potentially be anyone who forces himself on me. 

Please vote wisely, citizens. 

The Ethics of Doing Good

Last night after getting a primer on homelessness in the great city of Arlington, I found myself on a train with a passenger of questionable consciousness. 

Another concerned passenger called 911 and we were met at the next stop by two Metro employees who tried to help her off the train. 

She came to and shook her head several times, then murmured the name of her stop. 

The guy who called 911, I'll call him Doug, said he'd ride the train with her and make sure she'd get off safely at her stop. The Metro employees announced to our car that if she passes out, we should call 911 again. 

There was the usual chatter and energy of a post-happy hour Thursday night train ride, but many passengers kept glancing over at the lady with the fishnets, hair matted to her face, purse overturned, Metro card clutched in her hand. 

I asked Doug if he knew her. He said no and explained he'd gotten on the train at the same time she had, that she had been wobbly on her feet. Then the moment she took a seat on the train he watched her pass out to the point of drooling.

Hey Girl, Call Me Maybe

I'm (finally) getting tired of all these CMM parodies but here's one that pays homage to one of my favorite blogs. Plus there's lots of spanking. 

Do-Gooder Film School

After being understimulated for much of my life, moving to Washington, DC has brought on much needed overstimulation. 

Only problem now is that I don't have time to do all the exciting DC stuff that lured me up here in the first place. 


Or my laundry. 

I did, however, briefly meet Ralph Nader while waiting for a table on a recent Saturday night at Busboys & Poets. 

Here's some of the other things that have kept me from blogging/sanity in the last few months.

Reporting on the public media as an intern with Current newspaper.

Avoiding hooligans on dangerous city streets. 

Lots of commuting. 

Investigative journalist David Kirby spoke about his book Death at Seaworld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity.

Also present were Dr. Naomi Rose, a senior scientist at Humane Society International, and Courtney Vail, campaign director for the Whales and Dolphin Conservation Society, who addressed how damaging it is for orcas to be kept as play things for human entertainment. 

Ocean Doctor David E. Guggenheim gave a presentation on ocean life, how we landlubbers are wrecking it, and how it may be possible for us to one day live under the sea.

He also mentioned an excellent app for those who want to consume seafood responsibly.