I only read Cosmopolitan for the pictures.
The quizzes, the ads, to some extent the advice, there are at least two foundations that I like a lot.
First, taxonomies of personality-- introversion/estroversion, generosity/selfishness, ambition/domesticity.
Second, an attention to details that I only see if someone points them out, an attention that is occasionally flaky, sometimes perceptive, sometimes funny.
I understand that false consciousness in service of archaic ideas about sex and class are intertwined with analyzing what shades of lipstick mean. Not sure how to apply that understanding to my enjoying some (the ones that I find funny or snarky or focused) quizzes.
Oh and I absolutely love that there's a politics column in Cosmo and that it's pretty well done, if short.
They were all bitching about having to glam up for Cosmo - nobody looks that spiffy around the office. Also, the implication is that that's, in some sense, the leadership team, which, no. Barbara is in charge, but everyone else in the picture is a random selection of senior people -- a picture with everyone at an equivalent level of seniority would have probably five times that many people (and lots of men).
Apparently the State Assembly is going to leave Barbara in place until after the election in November, thank goodness. Some rando caretaker for six months would have been super annoying.
I'm curious-- do you have any PneumoReptilian thoughts on Cosmo choosing to run a story about this particular office, or on their having a politics column?
I applaud Barbara's attempt at the Tory power stance.
Not particularly? I mean, it's not like it was a story that was planned for long or reported in-depth, it was a reactive warm-and-fuzzy reaction to the fact that Schneiderman's dirtbag implosion left a woman (with a resume that would cut glass. Barbara's done stuff) in charge.
(And while I made fun of the semi-random selection of women for the photo shoot, it is true that the upper ranks of the office are probably at least quite close to half women, and might be more: I don't know offhand for sure. So, as impulsively-reactive "I am woman hear me roar" coverage, it's not terribly misleading.)
How will Barbara do at running for re-election in your opinion?
She won't run. She's quite old, and she's happy running the appellate bureau, which is what she was doing before Eric blew up. (Her job title, Solicitor General, is the number two in terms of succession within the office, but it's not a general purpose second in command, it means that she runs a particular bureau). The election is wide open as far as I know -- Democratic primary is September 13.
Meyer, Farrow and the New Yorker timed the story well: this is kind of perfect for minimal chaos in terms of the election.
Old? Morgenthau was reelected when he was 85!
I think this is sort of on-topic: I am happy to report that a misogynist, racist, bullying asshole from my past is finally getting his Me Too moment. I worked with him 30 years ago and he was a fucking nightmare. He went on to teach at a college, where, as one might expect, he did not turn over a new leaf.
Two ex-students nailed the fucker.
He has lost one minor gig as a columnist, and is basically on leave while the school investigates. Earlier today, he had a new column on the Michigan Public Radio site -- which has said they will continue to air his commentary -- but that column has disappeared without explanation.
He is also ombudsman for a prominent Ohio newspaper that is not in Cleveland, Cincinnati or Columbus. The union has called for his dismissal. The newspaper says it has never received a complaint and is investigating.
I'm feeling a weird mix of vindication and PTSD. I'm a white male, but he and I have our own intensely awful history, mostly independent of the sexual harassment and racism stuff.
oops - seems he still has his Michigan Public Radio gig after all.
Oof. "Ombudsman and writing coach" at the newspaper, and head of internship program at the university. Sure sounds like he seeks out connections to lots of young people cycling through, as well as any complaints they make.
Ever since Weinstein, I've been secretly hoping that at least one of the various horrific assholes I've had encounters with over the years would also turn out to be a serial sexual assaulter and get taken down. Hasn't happened yet.
There's one guy in my past who I would love to see go down for that, but I think he kept the abuse purely emotional rather than getting physical with his victims.
And Barbara's been appointed. Very much the best thing for the office.
As an undergrad I used to read this cartoon called Sylvia (anybody remember that?). She put a Cosmo style quiz in her cartoon, but shorter. I think she got it right.
"I am (check one)...
Beautiful and Intelligent.
Mean and Ugly."
That guided our lives for a semester. Greetings generally went "How you doing Gary?" "Mean and Ugly." [or the other one, depending]
Loved Sylvia so much. There was a multiple choice question once that I probably think about at least once a month:
In twenty years, voters' most important concern will be:
A. Healthcare
B. Education
C. Keeping radioactive mutant insects out of their caves.
Why does Solicitor General Underwood not get to have a surname?
Somebody broke into the nursery and tried to steal her when she was a baby. An alert nurse challenged the thief, who was forced to leave the baby, but was able to keep her surname as it was caught on a button.
That was my fault. Our cold blooded president's familiarity rubbed off on me unjustifiably. I considered using Underwood, but I'll admit it seems weird to refer to a politician by that name after House of Cards.
Sorry about that -- while I don't work directly with her, it's a first-namey kind of office.
15 gives me an idea. Make a website where you can type in a name and see how many google searches were done for that name + "MeToo". Good way to get tips.
They may have sanitized Google Suggest. E.g., if you type in "metoo bill", the only autocomplete is Bill Burr, who apparently had a bit about it. "metoo john" doesn't bring up anything. "metoo james" gets "James Bond," which, well, fair enough.
I mean, the setup's been there for years. To tell the truth, to keep things vaguely in the spirit of the post I'd much rather think about women one could be reading instead of Roth.
I listened to a podcast about Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and it so pointedly skewered Aaron Sorkin's outlook on life generally and women specifically that I thought "Him, right?" When I googled I found a lot about him being supportive of MeToo, lauded by actresses for specific support, etc., all feeling seeded in how much if focused on him being a Good One.
I did not get 27 until I read the news.
18 & 19. Though the comic stopped in 2012, you can still read the whole run on Gocomics.com.