tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11428321472058754752024-03-05T09:53:49.029-05:00Sapphic SoliloquiesSoliloquy (English /səlĭlʹəkwē/): In drama, the act of a character speaking to herself so as to reveal her thoughts to the audience. Also a speech or written discourse in this form.Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-84655526557709477892012-01-27T16:48:00.002-05:002012-01-27T16:48:53.169-05:00New Facebook Support GroupMy husband and I have been somewhat frustrated in trying to find a support group for mixed-orientation marriages that seem relevant to our situation (young married couple with young children), so we are starting a facebook group for Mixed Orientation Families. The group is for individuals/couples currently or previously in marriages where one or both spouses are gay or bisexual. We will discuss Mister Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00113134172902610883noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-35402165952273384512011-06-15T07:00:00.010-04:002011-06-15T17:41:06.951-04:00Curie-us CollagesMister Curie and I were inspired by Kiley's self-actualization collage a while back and one afternoon decided to make our own collages. According to Kiley's post, to make the collage you:Step 1 – You go through magazines and rip out things that are attractive. You do this process quickly without really thinking about or analyzing why you like what you like.Step 2 – Cut out the objects.Step 3 – Mister Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00113134172902610883noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-58343716422597903482011-05-17T18:47:00.002-04:002011-05-17T19:15:11.808-04:00Its Been AwhileAs is frequently the case when things are going well, without much trauma to publicly bleed, I've let my poor blog go by the wayside for the past 2 months. Although I'd like to say that I'm back for good, sadly I will probably continue to be as busy as ever. No news is good news, folks.To be even doubly rude, this will be a summary post of things that have happened since I've written last. I'll Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-39941602573685595752011-03-20T14:47:00.002-04:002011-03-20T14:57:59.234-04:00Holy MurderOur local ward is reeling from the arrest of ward member 28-year-old John Thomas. On Friday, March 18th, 2011, Thomas confessed to stoning to death ward member Murray Seidman (age 70 years) for "homosexual advances" on Jan. 12 of this year.Thomas claims Old Testament law as justification for the murder, and that he received personal revelation from God to murder Seidman.Thomas, who is a Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-48863019371545235832011-02-11T08:00:00.003-05:002011-02-11T08:00:04.232-05:00Review of "Subjection of Women"The February book for the Year of Feminist Classics read-along was John Stuart Mill's The Subjection of Women. This is an excellent essay that outlines many arguments for why and how the legislation of marriage and roles for women rendered the status of women as "less than slaves" in the late 1800s. The thesis of his argument is That the principle which regulates the existing social relations Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-80844861747460439552011-02-09T08:00:00.003-05:002011-02-09T08:00:30.325-05:00Blood of Eden - Part II, UnionIn the blood of EdenLie the woman and the manWe wanted the union,Oh the union of the woman, The woman and the man. - Peter Gabriel, Blood of EdenContinuing on the topic of my last post, another thought that I had while listening to this song was the idea of marital unity. Numerous Biblical phrases have a call to the union of man and woman. Elder Holland eloquently casts this union in the physicalMadame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-64443135703719080952011-02-07T08:00:00.002-05:002011-02-07T08:00:31.596-05:00Blood of Eden - Part I, MetaphorIn the blood of Edenlie the woman and the man -With the man in the womanAnd the woman in the man...- Peter Gabriel, "Blood of Eden"I've never believed in the literalness of the Adam and Eve story. From the time I was a child, I was raised to see the story as a metaphor, a mythology. I understood most of the Old Testament to be an oral history, inspired but not written by God. I found little Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-91163775913404969172011-02-02T08:00:00.000-05:002011-02-02T08:00:14.186-05:00Potato SoupAs part of preparing for the 3-Day walk in October, one of my goals is to fuel my body with healthier foods. What that means is aiming to eat lean meats, legumes, fruits, and vegetables for all meals, reserving grains (whole grains, like brown rice, whole wheat pasta, etc.) for one meal a day. As I was boiling some chicken for lunch for the week, when I realized that I needed a recipe for the Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-84399881959884004612011-01-31T18:41:00.004-05:002011-01-31T19:40:48.376-05:00The No Fun, Very Bad WeekTwo weeks ago, 2 kids in Le Petite's class were reported as having lice in Room 2. Within a week, 4 new cases were announced, and the lice had spread to my son's classroom, Room 3. For any parent with a kid in a classroom, the LICE threat is terrifying. Add to that a parent with OCD (me), and well... yeah. Lets just say that its ugly.My OCD is not usually set off by cleaning concerns, and is Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-66032045558050319182011-01-29T00:04:00.004-05:002011-01-29T00:32:03.550-05:00Knitting for a Cause: The Breast Cancer 3-Day!Two years ago, I participated in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for Breast Cancer. Unfortunately, the event itself was rained out. The fundraising process is incredibly grueling, even more so than the actual walk, and for that reason I opted out of walking last year.But this year I've decided to walk again, at the encouragement of a good friend and neighbor who will be walking with me.The Breast Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-40826054772348160002011-01-24T13:23:00.003-05:002011-01-24T14:07:01.179-05:00Review of "A Vindication of the Rights of Women"So. I finally finished it. This book took me far too long to get through. Although technically I only spent about two weeks reading it, it felt as though I had spent far longer than that with the book in hand, trying to read it. Wollstonecraft's thesis is that women are by nature physically weaker than men, but that any difference in cognition comes from education alone (i.e., nurture). She Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-482557655637755382011-01-23T08:00:00.000-05:002011-01-23T08:00:06.705-05:00Uniforms and AuthorityGwylym posted the following quote by Matt Elgren the other day, concerning the implied Mormon church code of dress for men (conservative dark suits and ties) and women (modest dresses or jumpers, stockings, and sturdy shoes):The uniform for men is an expression of their alignment with authority. The uniform for women is an expression of their submission to authority.But what of the missionary Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-57066936829495479342011-01-21T08:00:00.001-05:002011-01-21T13:17:10.711-05:00Some depressing thoughts on poverty(Disclaimer: I am going to say from the outset that I don't know much about this topic in an academic sense. My comments here are just thoughts that I have had when I've heard people say things that seem unjust to my untrained ears.)In Betty Smith's book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Francie Nolan is a young girl growing up in the tenement slums of Brooklyn in the early 1900s. At that time, Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-80692681318817368352011-01-19T08:00:00.001-05:002011-01-19T08:00:01.896-05:00Gay Mormon Boy said: [My colleague] is a single man in his fifties living in Utah. When he goes to a restaurant alone, people assume he's waiting for a party and don't seat him. They also say, "It's so sad" that he doesn't have anyone. (...) He believes that women in Utah have more body issues than elsewhere due to the unreasonable to marry at an early age. If one isn't married, the Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-46021364836897743562011-01-17T08:00:00.000-05:002011-01-17T08:00:15.117-05:00Photo sessionFrom left to right, Mister C. holding Le Petite, my brother-in-law D and his wife (my sister) M, Me, my sister B, and my Dad. My paternal grandmom is in the front center.I rarely publish photos of my extended family on Facebook or anywhere else for that matter, primarily because there are very few pics where the entire family is together. This photo was is a rareity. It was taken this year on Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-16156133956597140102011-01-15T08:00:00.000-05:002011-01-15T08:00:06.175-05:00A Fascinating Vindication of WomenMy own sex, I hope, will excuse me, if I treat them like rational creatures, instead of flattering their FASCINATING graces, and viewing them as if they were in a state of perpetual childhood, unable to stand alone. - Mary Wollstonecraft, Vindication on the Rights of Women (emphasis hers)In Vindication, Wollstonecraft does not argue for the independence of women. Indeed, according to her, men areMadame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-1384334504853927962011-01-13T15:24:00.005-05:002011-01-13T16:10:46.787-05:00Mormon Ad FAILA college-age young man is invited to play video games at a friend's house, but Institute (the Mormon equivalent of a Bible study group) is at the same time. His "good angel" pops up on his iPhone and promises him a "bonus" if he goes to the church activity. So, he goes. And the bonus? A date with a hot young thing (blond, thin, and Caucasian, of course). The overall message the church seems to Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-89157005180877857882011-01-13T08:00:00.000-05:002011-01-13T11:10:16.899-05:00A Vindication of the Rights of Women: A PreambleThe first book in the Year of Feminist Classics booklist is A Vindication of the Rights of Women, by Mary Wollstonecraft. The Wikipedia article for the book can be found here, and a discussion of Ms. Wollstonecraft's life can be found here. According to historical evidence, Vindication was written in 1792 as a direct response to a report given to the French National Assembly in 1791 that women Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-22407254783607109732011-01-11T08:00:00.000-05:002011-01-11T08:00:01.388-05:00Adult Celibacy in a Family-centered ReligionOn Friday, the New York Times posted an article entitled Single, Female, Mormon, Alone, by Nicole Hardy. The article discusses Ms. Hardy's personal experience as an unmarried adult in a community where celibacy before marriage is strictly enforced. I found the piece to be a poetic and poignant vignette, and not unlike stories I have heard from other single or gay Mormon adults.Ms. Hardy compares Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-74631199193567129652011-01-09T13:28:00.005-05:002011-01-09T13:38:25.602-05:002010 Brodie AwardsI've been nominated for a Brodie in the category of "Best Gender Issues Discussion" for my post on Body Acceptance.Check it out and vote! And if you think I've written a good post, vote for me! Thanks for your support!Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-72271138924798382532011-01-07T08:00:00.002-05:002011-01-07T08:00:01.523-05:00Snippets of my life on the way to PocatelloThis post was originally started in September, but I forgot about it and just found it. Enjoy!Scene 1: On an airport tarmac, next in line for take-off. le P: Mom, I have to pee.Me (Flipping through the magazine; to MrC): It looks like the in-air internet costs $12. So not worth it.le P: Mom, I have to peeeeeeeeee.MrC: Well, lets just hope le Petite takes a nap. (to le Petite) Hey, bud, look! YourMadame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-91612937939013684182011-01-05T22:32:00.004-05:002011-01-05T23:04:41.804-05:00HermitageI have a very strange pattern of sociality. Whenever I take the Meyer's Briggs test, I unfailingly score 49% introvert, 51% extrovert. I tend to be social in spurts, and then retire into a semi-hermit stage to recover.Case in point: Last week for Christmas, we threw a huge Harry Potter-themed party. We invited everyone we knew. I made 4 British puddings from scratch, along with a 25-lb turkey, Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-32381304982157060642011-01-05T14:48:00.003-05:002011-01-05T16:01:08.179-05:00Year of Feminist ClassicsOne of my long-standing "goals" is to become better read in terms of feminist literature and theory. The goal burgeoned in response to an annoyance: When I was active in Mormonism and actively commenting on Mormon feminist blogs, I frequently felt that "feminism" was being redefined and twisted to fit into the Mormon true-believing paradigm. The fit always seemed contrived to me. It just seemed Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-13450122063146553712010-12-24T12:22:00.003-05:002010-12-24T12:41:16.266-05:00The Plural Wives of Joseph(sung to the tune of "The 12 Days of Christmas")On the first day of Smithmas, Joseph Jr. took for freeA pair of Partridges for his family tree (They're even legal!)On the 2nd day of Smithmas, Joseph Jr. took for freeSarah and Maria Lawrence (17... its close enough!)and a pair of Partridges for his family tree.On the 3rd day of Smithmas, Joseph Jr. took for freeFanny “French-maid” Alger (I heard Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142832147205875475.post-56424233996342854152010-12-22T02:24:00.003-05:002010-12-22T03:00:01.771-05:00Body AcceptanceI am fat. Not overweight. Not pudgy. I am a very short, very round fat girl. I cannot recall a single year of my life where I wasn't obsessed with body image. I've daydreamed about pulling out a large cleaving knife and just hacking away at my excess stomach. With some good local anesthetic, surely it can't be too hard to cut open my abdomen and expunge the excess adipose tissue? (My husband Madame Curiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03599079525934551325noreply@blogger.com5