Now That's Cookin!

Steven Colbert Cooking with Feminists


Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem appeared on The Colbert Report recently, to promote their new radio station Greenstone Media.

The skit they performed with Cobert was brilliant, however, after reading through the comments on Youtube, it is clear that there are some folks out there who are so vertically challenged, that the bulk of the piece flew way over their heads.

Therefore, as a public service, please enjoy this scholarly analysis:

Cobert opens the skit by asking America's two leading feminists to bake an apple pie. This is hysterical. In addition, it defies the image of the angry, man hating, combat boot wearing, homicidal feminist.

For those of you who have not studied feminism, this image became part of our culture when Valerie Solanas wrote the Scum Manifesto and shot Andy Warhol.

You see, during the seventies, feminism was making great strides. Women were asserting their right to enter the workplace, and choose careers other than nurse, teacher or secretary. Women were entering college in larger numbers, demanding equal pay for equal work, and using their educations to change the stereotype of the female as inferior.

But Valerie changed all that. After she went wacco on Warhol, feminism became The F Word. Any woman who labeled herself as a feminist thinker was ridiculed and branded by society as a mixed up, hateful, angry, combat boot lesbian. (No offence to my gay readers implied.)

This stereotype was just part of the pendulum swung from the counter culture of the sixties, to the ultra conservative movement of today.

So when these two leading feminists appeared in a cooking spot, baking homemade apple pie, they made a strong statement that feminists are also traditional women, women who are part of mainstream society, women who have moral values, women, just like you and me, who are as American as apple pie.

Brilliant.

But it does not end there. Oh no, my little johnnygolds, the girls go on to announce the launch of a radio station for women, because, as Jane points out, "Women are leaving talk radio, they're not listening to talk radio. There's an exodus taking place, because they feel talk radio has left them. It doesn't matter whether the host on the radio is a man or a woman, the polarizing, conflict ridden, argumentative, judgmental tone of most talk radio now, does not appeal to women."

What Jane and Gloria are doing with this announcement is mobilizing 50% of the American electorate, saying "hey, if you are sick and tired of the political attack ads, the shout shows, and the b*tching and blaming, from Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and all the other hate mongers who have highjacked our political system, we have an alternative.

We have a radio network that will promote feminist ideals, pop culture, and politics in a civil manner. We have a network that will allow you to be entertained and stay informed in a way that would not offend your mother when she's baking a Thanksgiving Apple Pie."

Wow. These gals changed the face of feminism and sliced open our biggest collective beef with politics with one swift slice of the paring knife. Bravo ladies.

Had enough yet? I hope not, cause the girls are just getting started. Gloria demonstrates to the world how men and women must work together and move beyond stereotypical gender roles in her lemon squeezing segment, and Jane tops it off by kissing Stephen. This shows us that women can be strong and assertive, and still remain sexy and feminine at the same time. It also shows how women can reward men for right action, which may be controversial, but hey, every adult molds children using positive reinforcement for desired behaviors, so it makes sense that women can do that with men too.

Oh, and there's MORE...
Stephen puts up an old photo of Gloria as a Playboy Bunny. Now, for those of you who don't know, Gloria was a reporter at the time. She went undercover to do an expose of the Playboy club. While she was there, she discovered how badly these women were treated, and the article she wrote launched her career as a feminist. Combine that with Fonda's background in Hollywood, (a culture that notoriously exploits women as sex objects) and you have a very powerful statement about women's rights and gender roles in our society, which is exactly what they are talking about during this part of the clip.

My hat is off to Cobert, for he led them there like Sparticus. The man is a genius.

He sums it all up at the end of the clip, serving the pie and proclaiming "I like Feminists!" as Jane gives him a kiss.

Now that's Cookin!

Wish

"Don't wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom." --
~Jim Rohn

Ephemeral Beauty

Sixteen years.

I can hardly believe it's been sixteen years since I donned that white dress and walked down the aisle.

To celebrate the occasion, my hubba hubba honey took the day off work. We slept in, hung out, and held hands. It was Yummy.

At 10am, The Dr. Phil show did a special on weddings, in which his son Jay gave his bride some beautiful diamond earrings. (Yea, I know it’s corny to mention The Dr. Phil Show, but that’s the way synchronicity works. It all ties in, even corny talk shows.)

Right after the show, my darling hubby took me to the ooh-la-la Jared Galleria of Jewelry, where he bought me a pair of beautiful gold earrings with sixteen sparkling diamonds, to represent our sixteen years of marriage.

(All together now..."aaaawwww.")

I tried to take a photo of myself wearing them, but after half a dozen botched and blurry shots of various pores, pimples and nose hairs, I put my treasures in the box, and created an artistic photo still life on my kitchen counter with a blue dishrag and sink lighting.

Marriage is like that I guess. A holy union of diamonds and dishrags; a grand waltz of the precious and the plain, the magnificent and the mundane, all balanced in artistic harmony.

I love the symbolism of my ear rings. Not only do the diamonds represent the years, but the hoop is the symbol of marriage, of eternity, of the never-ending cycle of life.

After leaving the jewelry store, we had lunch in a romantic little European cafe. I was on cloud nine. On the way home, I couldn't help but notice how bright and beautiful the sky was. It was one of those crisp fall days filled with sunshine and an endless sea of puffy clouds floating along like a regatta in the sky. It was a day when the quality of light makes everything seem surreal. If you have ever been to New Mexico , where the quality of light is like that every day, you will know what I mean.


I was giddy silly, and began to babble about how amazing clouds really are.

"What if we came from a planet that did not have clouds, and saw a day like this? It's a miracle really. They defy the laws of gravity and literally float in the sky. Look at them. They are SO beautiful!"

To which my husband just smiled and said “Yes Dear” as a little joke.

He was digging it though, as much as I was, if not more. We were happy and in love, and both keenly aware of how lucky we are, and how special it is to have a day to spend together, with no plans or agendas or kids. It was a day for lovers, and the sky was our gift from above.

When we got home, I opened my e-mail and found a link to this website about clouds.
(Have I told you people that every day of my life is like this...filled with coincidence and synchronicity? Maybe I have, but I'm saying it again, with pure awe and wonder.)

Later that evening, after enjoying the, (ahem) "clouds", a big storm rolled in. Hubby and I love to watch the storms. They are so romantic and powerful. Marriage is like that too; Warm summer days, mixed with cold spells and giant cloud bursts of rain and hail. It’s that balance of yin and yang again; the balance that keeps everything fresh and new, full of electricity, and softened by sunshine.

When the storm passed, I went out the front door to gaze at the sky. Greg came around from the back, and we bumped into each other at the side of the house. He put his arm around me, as we looked at the magnificent canvas before us. To the east, the sky was dark and ominous. To the west, it was filled with red, orange and purple, with long streaks of sunlight piercing the puff balls above like streams of glory.

"See that line?” He pointed. “That's where the high pressure system meets the low. That's where rainbows are formed. If we keep our eyes open, we might see one."

It's true, I thought. That is where the rainbows appear. It's just a matter of seeing the beauty and purpose of both sides, of understanding the necessity of diversity, and respect for the ominous power of both the sun and the rain.

We think we want our lives to be filled with sunny days, but in reality, without the rain, the sun would wither and wilt all life into a dusty desert of parched nothingness. No, what we really want is to stand in the center, under the rainbow where we can see and feel it all.

The Cloud Appreciation Society says:

"Clouds are expressions of the atmosphere’s moods...and so commonplace that their beauty is often overlooked. They are for dreamers and their contemplation benefits the soul. Look up, marvel at the ephemeral beauty, and live life with your head in the clouds!"

I do.


P.S.
For those writers out there who find inspiration in sunshine, rainbows and clouds, check out The Taos New Mexico Writers conference:
http://www.unm.edu/~taosconf/index.htm

The 2007 Taos Summer Writers' Conference will be held July 7-13 registration will open December 1
Taos Summer Writers' Conference has a number of scholarships to provide support for talented writers. The application process for all awards begins in December