Author Archives: Julie

Occupy Portland Information – March TODAY

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Julie

Courtesy of Charles, in the comment thread to my Occupy Los Angeles post: People started assembling at 8:00 am at the PSU section of the Park Blocks and will start marching at 12:00 noon. This is the location approved by … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Occupy Portland Information – March TODAY

Occupy Los Angeles

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Julie

Right now people are camping out on the lawn of Los Angeles City Hall, and many other sites across the country, in solidarity with the Wall Street occupation (go to http://occupytogether.org to find one in your city).  The privilege I’ve seen … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 38 Comments

Thoughts from Vilnius: a Ramble

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Julie

For the past three weeks, I’ve been in Vilnius (better known to Ashkenazi Jews as Vilna or Vilne), Lithuania, studying in a month-long Yiddish intensive. Most of the students in the program are in History or Jewish Studies PhD programs; … Continue reading →

Posted in Jews and Judaism | 31 Comments

Circumcision, like everything else, is complicated

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Julie

A couple of weeks ago, Peaceful Parenting reported on some remarks Russell Crowe made about circumcision: Circumcision is barbaric and stupid. Who are you to correct nature? Is it real that GOD requires a donation of foreskin? Babies are perfect…. … Continue reading →

Posted in Jews and Judaism, Men and masculinity | 35 Comments

Just Plain Feminism

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Julie

Jessica Nathanson, also known as Plain(s)Feminist, passed away last night of breast cancer. I started reading her blog a few years ago and was quickly hooked by her insights, intelligence, and honest, open writing style. After she was diagnosed, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Right Speech vs. White Privilege:

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Julie

ETA: My curiosity took me to the Wikipedia page for Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, and it turns out that O’Brien’s comparison is even less apt than I initially thought: The village’s long name cannot be considered an authentic Welsh-language toponym. It was artificially … Continue reading →

Posted in Race, racism and related issues | 33 Comments

Public libraries are a socialist threat that should be dismantled

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Julie

At least, that’s the gist of a comment left by “Mrs. Lemming” on an NPR story about ballot measure L, which will restore public library service in Los Angeles to six days a week. (The name leads me to believe … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections and politics | 20 Comments

Doctors are doing it wrong

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Julie

All! I know I haven’t been able to shut up about my medical problems lately, but I want to call your attention to this NYT article from a few days ago. First, though, let me express my deep thanks to … Continue reading →

Posted in Health Care and Related Issues | 6 Comments

Surgery and Mental Health

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Julie

Trigger warning: graphic descriptions of medical procedures. As my Facebook friends are no doubt sick of hearing, I have a blocked tear duct. Turns out you really need your tear ducts! Give them a hug, because they are important! If … Continue reading →

Posted in Whatever | 15 Comments

compost catastrophe

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Julie

So I’ve been keeping a worm bin (a compost bin that uses worms to turn food scraps into fertilizer) for about two years now. For the first year or so, I kept the bin in the garage, but that made … Continue reading →

Posted in Whatever | 8 Comments