What does sex look like?

The Dutch have the answer.

A team of Dutch scientists used Magnetic resonance imaging of male and female genitals during coitus and female sexual arousal. The group also traced other experiments in this field of study, most notably, that of Leonardo Da Vinci, whose drawing "The Copulation" showed that semen in males comes from the brain and goes down the spine. Sort of gives you confirmation about how certain parts of the population think. Feh.

But really now, the Dutch, they really know how to do a really cool science project.

Feminist Fairy tales

Last week in fiction class, we read (or rather, the teacher read for us) selections from Barbara Walker's "Feminist Fairy Tales." Walker is convinced that "in the beginning, classical fairy tales show little respect for women, except as young and beautiful 'princesses.'" Their only role was to be decorative, "in the customary female function in these old stories. Girls without beauty are automatically also without virtue, happiness, luck or love."

Thus, Walker's purpose in rewriting the said narratives is "to elevate the role of the women in the fairy tale to a stronger, more independent one, capable of leaving for fixing her unhappy position, usually at the hands of abusive men." But unlike satirists who poke fun at the situation, Walker is is described as a 'humerlus' person, totally devoid of humor.

I also found totally unrelated stuff for my fiction class homework, but all I found was this: A post-colonial canonical and cultural revision of Conan Doyle's Holmes narratives and this.

I'm still at a loss what to do with the homework, although I have the idea that I want to put together Megastar Ate Shawie, Gabby Concepcion, Magick Sing and Aegis' "Basang-basa sa Ulan." Ate Shawie, who has everything but used to be unhappy in love and luckless when it comes to men, makes up for everything by earning tons in her endorsements. She did her time at the hands of abusive men. So I want her to totally get over it and kick some abusive male ass.

If not that, I'm tempted to put together Ate Vi and the legend of sampalok. Tapos puro krompalan scenes lang ever. Wala lang. I--actually me and Yummy--have decided to cast ourselves as the class' resident airheads. Just to continue what we have established in our first day of class last week: We arrived late, and gave totally blah answers to the question, "Why do you write?" Our CW10 kids would have given better answers. Feh.

UPDATE: I decided to go with the Sharon and Gabby thing. I totally horsed around, and I almost shriveled when the teacher picked my homework to be read out loud first. While I thought that it would just be submitted and she'd read it as an exercise, the whole class actually had to critique it. As in give it a reading, ladida, the works. And Yummy gave a totally airhead answer: "It was funny! I liked it!" Go, airheads! Heehee.

The Grandmammy of all covers

Now here's something guaranteed to make you fall off your chairs: What happens if you cross Kylie Minogue with Tori Amos?

A totally weird cover version of Can't Get You Out of My Head. (Scroll down for the page for the link.) Seriously. I know this is like nearly a month late, but still worth the download. I know the cover was done becaue of good intentions, but really, our only comment when the song finally played out was something out of Melanie Marquez: "Ms. Amos, ang labo mo!" Hehehe.

[Thanks to Hanah for telling me the news.]

How to write a term paper

Once again, the guys at TMN bring you incredibly useful advice. This time they give us the lowdown on how to write a term paper--complete with tips on pagination, margins, font size, and of course, with pictures:

But if school taught us how to do anything, it showed us how to turn the un-presentable into the presentable—at least by the end of class on the due date. In fact, we can assure you there is no poster that can’t be improved with an extra photocopied textbook illustration, no diorama that can’t rise another letter grade with an accompanying oral argument about how you’ve truly revealed Ibsen’s underlying dramatic—and certainly no short essay that resists inflation into a term paper four times the normal size of its content.

For students attempting to google me: If you do exactly as the TMN guys tell you for your papers in Eng10, you will get a fat, round grade in your classcards. No dice.

How to fold a fitted sheet

I am a ditz and a klutz when it comes to folding and ironing stuff, so this advice from Target (Target! Of all places!) on how to fold a fitted sheet is really really helpful. I got confused a bit, but at the end of the day, I had my sheets folded just fine.

More how-to's:



Silksreen your shirt designs using stencils and fabric paint. Looks nice noh? via.

So long, Mrs. Robinson

Actress Anne Bancroft passed away at age 73 from uterine cancer.

According to the New York Times article, she worked hard to get beneath the surface, to inhabit a role as deeply as possible. While preparing for her role as Helen Keller's teacher in "The Miracle Worker," the film that gave her an Oscar, she taped her eyes shut so that she'd know what it's really like to be blind.

But even with dedication like that to her craft, Anne Bancroft was still known for her portrayal of the middle aged seductress Mrs. Robinson in the 1967 film "The Graduate." In an interview conducted in 2003, she expressed concern and slight disappointment that her "meatier" roles were all obscured by attempt to educate a rather well-heeled young man just out of college.

I must confess that I'm one of those Ms. Bancroft must have loathed. "The Graduate" is one of my favorite "directional*" movies, and every time I hear the Simon and Garfunkel intro I can't help but hum along and envision Dustin Hoffman staring at those stockinged feet.

Anyhow, more useless info about that movie according to the interviews in the 25th year anniversary laser disc edition: Despite the roles they played in the movie, there really wasn't much of a "generational gap" between her and Dustin Hoffman, who was already thirtyish when he took on the role of Benjamin Braddock. He was like 31 to her 36. And between Hoffman and Katharine Ross, the girl who played Elaine Robinson, it was the latter who was more popular at the time.

When the film came out when it did, in the late 60s, it spoke to an entire generation of people who were advised to invest in a future in plastics, although I am more inclined to wear sunscreen. It is my goal that someday, I will be as well preserved as Mrs. Robinson.

*The other films in that library include Reality Bites and Ghost World.