I can't say I imagined being impressed or even driven to think much at all when choosing to read the article titled,  "Girls gone wild on TV" printed in the LA Times this week (go on, judge me). But the article turned out to do more than provide a salacious shout-out to the reality television that everyone hates to love. By choosing to open and close the article with quotations from Jane Austen, journalist David Kronke wanted to let readers know that he was going for slightly more.

One idea in the article that did catch my attention was this:  What is it that television is trying to do by both courting female audiences and choosing to present so many female characters who demonstrate such poor behavior?

We women could be just as much to blame for devouring the tasteless television presentation of women like us (sort of...at least in gender). Similar debates can be found in the fashion industry (who is to blame for the popularity of unhealthy-looking models?) and when critiquing pop-culture magazines (who buys magazines with articles that encourage obtaining a sense of value from pleasing men versus articles that highlight personal professional achievement?).


Read the LA Times article here and think about it for yourself.

The article "Write Like A Man," on Salon.com's broadsheet got me thinking about my own blog. Mostly it made me sad to think that rather than being proud of my work, one day I might reconsider wanting people to know that it comes from my mind, my fingertips. Writing under a pseudonym is not a thing of the past.

  Here's a taste from writer Kate Harding

["...But even I've bought into the myth of meritocracy enough that my first thought upon learning a female writer massively increased her success by adopting a male pseudonym was, "Wow, how retro! How Brontë, how Eliot, how Sand." Certainly not "how Rowling."]

Read the Salon Article Write Like A Man

I'm excited about this blog called People's District. DC-based photographer, DJ and community-connector Danny Harris has been diligently stepping out into the corners of DC to bring the words and images of The District to the web. He's weaving DC's people together with the threads of their thoughts and their impressions of this town.

I'm in conversation with D.H. about creative ways to bring some sound into the mix and how to continue to inspire the residents to connect through their voices and actions.

People's District reminds me of this favorite destination. Check them all out.