Hamlet in the mornings
Selective Memory
- Me: I don't know what you guys are talking about. I used to make great dating decisions!
- Nan: You may not remember life before Patrick, but your friends do.
- Gracye: This is what they call revisionist history.
2 days ago
November 5, 2009
How I Dumped The Pill & Met The IUD
I’m en route to my IUD followup appointment and my piece about why I switched birth control options just went up on SexReally.com. Check it out:
Two weeks ago, I ended my longest and most tumultuous relationship to date. Four years and hundreds of dollars after my first prescription, I decided that I had swallowed my final birth control pill. I tossed out my last packet, lay back in stir-ups, and got an IUD… [continued]
3 days ago
November 4, 2009
Is marriage a right?
Frankly, I find this argument offensive. Homosexuals and others in same sex couples aren’t fighting TO get married. We fight for the RIGHT to get married. If you don’t want to get married, nobody’s forcing you! But just imagine someone was telling you that you COULD NOT get married if you chose to. So, I’m sorry, but I absolutely cannot feel bad for you based on the idea that when everyone can get married (and someday we will acheive equality), you’ll be somehow forced to “join.”
How exactly is this argument “offensive”? I’m an ardent and out supporter of LGBT rights, have attended the requisite rallies, written angry letters, you name it. (I don’t typically feel the need to brandish my queer street cred, but given that I don’t belong to the group, I do think I should justify my ability to comment on this issue.)
Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that marriage is a “right” in the traditional sense. It’s not. It’s a privilege, meaning that those who choose not to get married will not get the privileges associated with marriage. Rights, on the other hand, don’t require sign-ups. So no, nobody is forcing anyone to join the club, but if joining the club is the only way to access the same set of legal benefits, then yes, you effectively have no choice but to opt in.
(Perhaps a more helpful way to look at the debate would be to examine “the right to get married” and “the rights associated with marriage” as separate issues. The latter should be granted to all people, not just “married” couples.)
3 days ago
November 4, 2009
reblogged via 
Maine: Yes On Pot, No On Gay Marriage?
As I’ve become increasingly disenchanted with marriage, I have become more inclined to believe that the entire marriage equality movement is a misguided effort. Sure, same-sex couples and feminist weddings might be mildly transgressive affairs, but they are ultimately reaffirmations of an institution too steeped in patriarchal values to ever change. I grant that civil unions — as they exist in the U.S. today — are an inadequate, “separate but equal” solution. Legalizing same-sex marriage is not merely a legal victory but a symbolic one. But given that the State has no place in granting marriages, is it simply too radical to propose that the government do away with any and all mentions of marriage and only grant civil unions to straight and gay couples alike? Will anti-marriage equality folks be willing to accept such a compromise?
If marriage equality is ever fully realized in America, it will effectively spell the end of the fight for civil unions and domestic partnerships. The latter will not seem relevant to anyone but a very small minority (including me), because marriage is apparently the type of thing everyone naturally just wants to sign up for. So where does that leave those who don’t want to get married or want to have husbands and wives? Marriage has always been an exclusive institution in that not everyone can join. But when everyone can join, what happens to those who don’t want to?
(On the bright side, Maine is taking a cue from my home state on the weed issue.)
3 days ago
November 4, 2009
Banana Coconut Milk Soup (The Elephant Walk Version)
Every since I visited The Elephant Walk a couple weeks ago, I’ve been smitten with their rendition of the Vietnamese dessert soup Che Chuoi. (They call it Chaek K’tih since they’re also technically a French/Cambodian place.) I knew that the recipe would be simple but I didn’t expect to find the exact one used by the restaurant. Turns out that The Elephant Walk has a cookbook accessible on Google Books. I tweaked their recipe because I lacked some ingredients (most importantly, tapioca balls) but here is the original version:
Ingredients:
2 cups unsweetened coconut milk, plus more for serving
l/2 cup water
2 tablespoons small Asian tapioca pearls, rinsed
12 small Asian bananas or 3-4 regular bananas
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dried split mung beans or sesame seeds
Directions:
Put the 2 cups coconut milk and the water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the tapioca and bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring, until the tapioca becomes translucent and soft, 10 to 15 minutes for tiny pearls, longer for larger tapioca pearls.
Meanwhile, slice the bananas lengthwise in hal, then cut crosswise in half; if using regular bananas, cut each half into thirds or quarters. Gently sitrring, add the bananas, sugar, and salt tot he tapioca and cook for 10 minutes more. Remove from the heat.
While the bananas are cooking, put the dried mung beans or sesame seeds in a small heavy skillet and dry-roast over medium-high heat, shaking constantly, until light brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. If using sesame seeds, pound briefly with a mortar and pestle or pulse in a mini-chop two or three times to release their flavor.
Ladle the warm bananas and tapioca into shallow bowls, sprinkle with the toasted mung beans or sesame seeds and serve with extra coconut milk on the side. Serves four.
4 days ago
November 4, 2009
Lindsey Stull: Me, Myself, and my IUD
Lena Chen, Harvard senior and author of the popular blog “Sex and the Ivy,” knows she will be baby-free til 2014. Is she psychic? Celibate? Nope. She has a brand new baby-fighting friend in her uterus…
Penn senior Lindsey Stull discusses the benefits of the IUD in an informative and witty piece for The Daily Pennsylvanian.
4 days ago
November 3, 2009
Anatomy of a Halloween Costume:
- Victoria’s Secret babydoll (gift from Nan)
- Leather collar and cuffs (my own)
- Pigtails
In case it wasn’t clear, I decided to be a BDSM submissive for Halloween. This was very last-minute and thrown together two hours before we went out. I don’t think a single person, besides my friends, had any idea what I was supposed to be. Oh, well. At least the costume was free and comfy.
(And not much of a costume given that I have no qualms about wearing this around the house just for kicks.)
6 days ago
November 1, 2009
6 days ago
November 1, 2009
This picture sums up what the entire night was like: Jason was sweaty, Christine was jaded, and Kennedy was drunk. In other words, not a complete success.
I also didn’t realize that some of the parties would be guest-listed. I guess I just assumed that fraternities were unlike final clubs in that respect. However, the frats at MIT are definitely more diverse and egalitarian than Harvard final clubs. No contest there.
I don’t think anyone in my group was feeling the music either, predominantly heavy rap. We were in the mood for music from the likes of Lady Gaga, Britney, and other shiny white women adored by the gays. Great company, but totally WRONG scene. I can’t do massive college parties anymore.
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