On being raised to “help”

This chart comes from an investigative report done by the Oregonian about nepotism in the legislature.  Apparently, Oregon is fairly unique in allowing our political leaders to hire family members as aides. However, I took this picture for another reason.

Look at the column of “Relation.” Only three of these aides are men: one son, one father and one husband.  Twenty of them (87%) are women: wives, daughters, daughter-in-laws.

When I see this list, I see all the girls who society encourages to be “helpful” and “caring.”  What would things look like if instead, they were raised to be leaders?  Would the spread be more even, on both sides, legislators and aides?  And how different would society look, if that were the case?

Three sentence movie reviews: Rough Night

This movie didn’t work for me, and I think the main reason is because it’s set up as a zany comedy, and then for most of the movie the women are faced with trying to cover up the murder of an innocent male stripper.  Despite this hardship, it manages to be amusing throughout.  We spent a goodly amount of time curiously dissecting what didn’t work.

Cost: $1.50 from Redbox
Where watched: at home with Matt.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2017/rough_night_ver12.html

One Story: Please Give Me One Good Reason Not to Hate You

Benny narrates this, and Benny isn’t the greatest of guys.  But he’s the kind of guy you probably should like less, but don’t.  Here’s a quote: “I arrived in Bozeman after the place that came after Animas, was thinking I would stay forever—thinking I would finally stop what I’ve been doing and be someone, thinking this place was really me.”

Bozeman is going well, sort of, until he goes on a backpacking trip with some friends.  The story is structured so that I felt equally sorry for everyone on the trip, and also happy to see Benny get what is coming to him.

There were fun class/income observations also.  Nicely done, Shawn Vestal.

Three sentence movie reviews: Maze Runner

I mean, I wasn’t going to like this movie.  I didn’t like the book and only watched the movie because it was part of a Book-to-Movie library activity.  It was interesting to see what they left out of/added to the original narrative.

Cost: free
Where watched: at the Hollywood Library, with a bunch of teens.  Who then played a modified game of Sharks and Minnows, running through the closed library, dodging  hazards in the “maze” (chairs, lego pits, strings, walls of book carts). This was much more fun than the movie.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2014/maze_runner.html

Postcard from Vienna

This is from my cousin Ron, who always travels anyway, but also gets some sort of travel stipend in his retirement.  He reports it was difficult to find a postcard of Vienna that wasn’t a depiction of 50 years ago.  (I have noticed this problem of late also, and I am not at all happy.)

Cousin Ron reports that the city is large, but they have quickly gotten used to walking, using the subway and taking buses.  Also, apparently the food is not expensive, so they have been indulging in a lot of pastry.

This came in an envelope, so I thought I would include the stamp.

You too could have…

….arms like Emma.

This made me chortle.

I appreciate Emma Stone for many things, but her toned physique is not one of them.  She’s tiny, and even with adding 15 pounds of muscle, I don’t feel like I’m looking at much there. Granted, the Billie Jean King era was before the big-arm Linda Hamilton doing pull-ups in Terminator 2 or Angela Bassett as Tina Turner.  But Ms. King had some guns.

Broadway Building Rehab and Broken Branch

I’ve featured this building before on this blog.  It’s getting an update.  The Passport Photo place on the corner has moved into the middle space while they renovate.

It’s a to-the-sidewalk renovation, and I’m interested in how they have built a temporary new interior while they work on the exterior.

And also how the corner entrance looks like it will be maintained, along with its light.

Around the corner in the North Park Blocks, a branch is down.

A big branch!