So, it feels a little like caving, because everyone and their brother does these, but wth. What is a blog for, if not a little self-indulgence?

Ergo- here are some good things I have read lately. You should read them too.

The ever-inspiring Jay Johnson writes about what, exactly, it means that Jesus’ last act was to unite his mother with the beloved disciple in a new, unorthodox, family.

A really interesting post on “‘hipster racism’ or ‘ironic racism’—or, as I like to call it, racism” from Lindy West at Jezebel. As a white kid who grew up among other white kids, and then went to college in Utah, for crying out loud, I find this sort of insidious, middle-class, oblivious racism shockingly pervasive (hipster headdresses, anyone?), and this article thoroughly and mercilessly calls it on the carpet.

I think this is linked to from the aforementioned Jezebel article, but in case you miss it- a post on racism in the media recently. Horrifying and informative.

Furthermore, a critique of the aforementioned ironic racism piece talking about how “When we write like this and talk like this we risk turning the matter of racism into a mere matter of taste, of who’s cool and who’s uncool—and the internet is all too good at doing that.”

An interesting (and, as a chubby white woman, a little close to home) article about the cultural roots of women’s weight and perceived desirability to men.

On what it means to say “no” like a girl, and why it’s important that we, as women, learn to say “no” regularly and with meaning. Also, the spiritual necessity of boundaries.

And lastly, this is quite old by internet standards, but about two months ago there was a internet meme (I mainly saw it on twitter, myself) about sexual violence tagged #Ididnotreport . I was absolutely floored at the time, because at least two thirds of my friends, family, and co-workers (including some of the men) participated- it’s one thing to hear the statistics, and quite another to see your closest friends tweeting about how, exactly, they’ve been victimized. Informative article, though.