*Exhale*

It’s never a glamorous moment. There is usually a watery highball glass that needs refreshing awash in a pool of its own sweat sitting next to an ashtray full of butts. Your desk is strewn with a smattering of papers; like a dried up mound of pallid, brittle leaves that have to be swept into a dust bin at the end of autumn. When you finally finish your writing, it is 3:04 am, your right eye is twitching, the lumbar region of your back is tied in a knot of tension, and the cat is splayed across the desk chair you have since forsaken for the general placation of your bed. You are alone; without triumph or fanfare.

At this very moment you’re curious what the next step is. The words oozed out of your fingertips seconds earlier, but now there is no friendly tapping. Everything has finally culminated in a lexis of claims, still fresh. If only there was more of a glowing essence housed within this second of completion; maybe an epic illumination that would at least show in your cat’s droopy eyes or a miniscule rainbow that suddenly shoots out of the dripping glass. No such luck. This is the flash of time that you have been waiting for the past three years, yet this very moment in which you’ve closed down shop on the printing press to your soul can almost certainly be described as a dud.

All is Right with the World. Sort of.

Oh. Look here. It's been almost a year since my last blog post.


Whoa.


Surprising.


In that case, it's probably time for a bit of updating and "housekeeping" (as nerdy profs everywhere call it.) The first major accomplishment is that I have successfully defended my dissertation (June 1, 2011) and will be graduating August 6th, 2011. The published manuscript, titled:

Sugar, Salt, and Fat: Michelle Obama's Rhetoric Concerning the Let's Move! Initiative, Binary Opposition, Weight Obsession, and the Obesity Paradox

can be found here (OhioLINK.)

The goal of this project was to conduct a textual analysis on the social and political implications of First Lady Michelle Obama’s rhetorical artifacts from 2009 to 2011 regarding her childhood obesity campaign and widely-supported initiative entitled Let's Move! The analysis examined the remarks made by Michelle Obama regarding childhood obesity at five separate speaking engagements. The research focused on the rhetorical and social construction of weight, while emphasizing the immediate need for policy-change and a human rights focus in relation to weight discourses. The major objective of this work was to investigate discursive and symbolic themes of empowerment, peace-building, violence, dehumanization, globalization, sustainability, consumption, consumerism, and performativity while drawing on critical rhetorical studies and health communication scholarship to challenge the status quo of binary opposition, weight obsession, and the obesity paradox in lieu of contemporary US weight discourses.

Almost simultaneously, Roz Chast published this cartoon in the New Yorker June 27, 2011:

Irony! Major Irony!

Perhaps a future book cover illustration, hmmmmmmmm? So anyway, it's been a rough three years, but I'm feeling very happy about the outcome. I still didn't learn how to play really anything on the guitar, but at least I tried. My fingers hurt just thinking about it... I guess I prefer the keyboard.

Regardless, with this degree comes a lot of perspective about where I came from, who I am, and where I'm going. As I accept offers for jobs, I try to keep my chin up knowing that there is still so much to do and so many goals to achieve. With this next phase comes a lot of uncertainty, but I'm just beginning to realize that my push to finish the PhD in 3 years was well worth it.

And I hope Uncle Rondy was right. With confidence, I think the Armentrouts and the Lietzkes are proud... even though this was only the first step =)

OMG! Is Michelle Obama actually Getting it?!

Maybe so, if this story from the Christian Science Monitor is to be believed.

The First Lady goes on record saying she "tries to stay away from discussions about weight with her daughters," focusing instead on health (even though this is also a rhetorically "loaded" term.) I notice she's still willing to talk about weight with the rest of our daughters. And sons.

Well, change comes slowly. I hope she'll keep listening as well as talking. And if there's another place at the table for the September summit on childhood obesity, definitely count me in. . . and someone pay for my travel expenses lol

Getting really pumped! This year of research should be awesome!

I've Never Had a Better Sandwich in My Life. It's as if the Meat has been Touched by God.

Why does the Culver's BBQ Brisket Sandwich (the picture above doesn't do it justice) have to be seasonal? Also, why does the nearest Culver's have to be an hour away from Bowling Green?

I mean seriously. They serve it with a fork.

I think that I need to stage a following similar to the one when the McRib was popular:

And all those dorks thought that was "good?"

They haven't lived until the magical pork products at Culver's have graced their lips.

This Tastes Like Sweet, Hot Garbage

Not joking. I made myself eat it because I didn't want to feel guilty throwing away my pre-packaged, sodium and preservative-laden pile of shredded junk. Just a suggestion: DO NOT EAT THIS...

DO EAT THIS:

It's the only Lean Cuisine that hasn't left me feeling dissatisfied and barfy (ironic that their slogan is "keep life delicious.") If only I could afford more "organic" produce... I could "fix" more "healthy" meals (if/when time allots) and my fridge would look more like this:

Oh well. Such is life.

Words/Phrases to Eliminate from Our Collective Vocabs

Seriously. Get rid of this garbaggio... or risk turning into a Jersey Shore cast member.

It is what it is.
At the end of the day...
I'm not gonna lie, but...
To be honest with you...
Yikes
Yowza
Yaaaaaaaaaay! (As in: "Timmy just made a doodie in his potty. Yaaaaaaay!")
pistol (As in: "Timmy is being such a little pistol today. Tsk. Tsk.")
naughty (As in: "Don't say 'Oh my God' like naughty Aunt Jen.")
stinker (As in: "I'm sorry Timmy doesn't like your christmas gift. He's being a stinker.")
I got thrown under the bus
Brother and/or brotha and/or broseph (When the person is not related.)
Uber-anything
That's fierce, cute, hot, sassy, or chic
Epic anything
Respect or Disrespect
It's all good
I feel you
Dawg (unless used to make fun of someone's name)
Fuckabees
That's what it's all about
Without a doubt
I'm over it
It's my day (as in a bride using this as an asshole-ish excuse to treat people badly)
I'm type A
One day at a time
I'm just livin' the dream
Tweet, tweeting, tweetaholic, retweet, twitterhead, twitterature, twittersphere
Is there an app for that?
Can you hear me now?!?!
Epidemic, disease, crisis, war on anything (or other variations of militaristic/apocalyptic rhetoric)
In this economy
Teabagger
Socialism
Sarah Palin
Can you hear me now?
Device (instead of phone)
Awkward
Drama
Random
Baby bump
Cougar (as in an old-ass lady chasing a younger man)
Bling
Murdered out (as in a car)
Sexy
Fabulous
Anyting -ista
Green -anything
Lady Gaga
Apparently... (and then interject a relatively mediocre personal observation)
Absolutely
Communicate (as in it's not a process, but something finite)
I know, RIGHT!?!?!?


If the above weren't obvious enough, LSSU has a list of their own here.

Ode to My Left Leg

Back to normal and no pain whatsoever,
Taking the hardware out was really quite clever.

I am SO PUMPED that the aching in my knee is gone. Besides the ugly-ass scars all over, I think my leg/knee/ankle is about 99%. I've given it enough time to heal, sitting around for months, and it's evident that I've finally arrived at a place where I can stand, kneel, squat, and walk for long lengths of time.

A few years ago I was really scared that I would never get here, that I'd be jacked up for life, but it just occurred to me that I'm really thankful for this and don't want to take it for granted. Anyway, I just thought I should put that appreciation out into the universe... now to get back on the treadmill everyday this week. Booya.

Where Did May Go?

Whoa. As annoying as the lawnmowers outside my bedroom window at 7:45a, this summer will be flying by. Lots of concerts planned, hopefully going to see some Tigers games, bonfires, reading fiction, grilling, camping, tubing, visiting friends, and driving all over the place. On the other hand I have a ton of work to do... a grant proposal... plus a class UGH.

Then it will be time for the prelim. Double UGH. Maybe my b-day week will suck because of this? I hope not. Anyway, if anyone knows of any adjunct positions around here please let me know. I've already updated my professional site for the ongoing job search. Also, ironically, I've finally got back on the DREADMILL. Feeling pretty good already. Knee doesn't hurt at all!!!

That's the brief update in the life of BA. I'm hoping to get back to regular posting, but if not, don't hold it against me =)

Have a great summer friends!

Linner

My head is spinning so I made Linner (courtesy of Jerry Seinfeld) from stuff I had laying around. Used up all of the blackberries. Now maybe I'll get back to work.

Two weeks left until the official end of the semester. *breathe in, breathe out*

Also, today is Earth Day. Go hug a tree or something.

XO -BA

Chpt. 1 of Tangled routes: women, work, and globalization on the tomato trail By Deborah Barndt

Ok, it's going to be a late one today because I just picked up the book from Ohiolink. I guess it's the end of the semester or something!

Chpt 1 does a good job of foreshadowing the main issues of the tomato production process in a globalized sense. Barndt highlights the history of the tomato and its production by beginning with breaking down the process in 3 sections:

-the production of tomatoes in Mexico
-their transport, trade, and distribution in US and Canada
-their commercialization and consumption in Canada

It's important to note that it is not necessarily linear though (e.g. south producing for the north trajectory can be more complicated than these 3 sections.)

Barndt takes on Gereffi's global commodity chain (GCC) analysis on p. 9, while also integrating various maps and other stages to alliterate her understanding of the complexities of the tomato market. We begin to see that there is not necessarily any specific "right" or "wrong" way to look at the production/consumption of the tomato; rather, individuals will engage differently depending upon experience and worldview.

Some points that I found interesting:

Step 4: Multinationals control the technological package p. 15
"intellectual property" where companies claim patents on genetically modified tomato seeds
"technological package" issues of agro-chemicals and pesticides

"Food is a political centerpiece of the Zapatista initiative" p. 16

gender dynamic of harvesters rooted in machista culture; perpetuated by the international sexual division of labor p. 17

Also get a good understanding of the involvement of every aspect of the production of tomatoes, how everything seems to "work", etc. We see organizations like NAFTA and USDA playing a part as well.

p. 23 Tomatoes account for 56% of the cargo crossing the US-Mexico border at Nogales

"illusion of diversity" in the consumption of tomatoes p. 30

p. 32 McDonaldization

p. 35 commodity fetishism Marx

p. 36 draws on Gramsci's notion of "moment" and integrates her own ideas about the moments that can be examined along the tomato trail

I'll address these all more in-depth during our discussion this afternoon, but I'm excited because a lot of Barndt's points parallel many of the underlying arguments that I've been concerned with pertaining to weight discourse. Thinking about the tomato trail has only strengthened many of my presumptions about the commodification of food, the body, individual communication/rhetorical practices, and political/powers structures, so I'm looking forward to today =)

Activism/Feminism Thoughts

So, for today's class we are to define our activist space, describe it, and answer the question: What makes it activism?

To begin, it's best to offer our own definition of activism because the future of feminism is in trying to make scholarship/activism connect. According to Feminist.com activism is "doing something" about a political, economical, environmental, or social cause. This type of advocacy I might add, should also be in a manner that is legitimately meaningful, poignant, thought-provoking, and awareness-raising. The true objective should be to evoke some sort of change as an activist for a given cause.

The etymology of activist is:

"one who advocates a doctrine of direct action," 1915; from active (q.v.). Activism in this sense is first attested 1920; earlier (1907) it was used in ref. to a philosophical theory (dictionary.com)

My conceptualization of the idea of activism is in alignment with the above definitions, yet I also find that activism is dirty and fraught with lifetimes of hard work and life-risking. Moreover, in this sense, a word that is often associated with activist is militant... which is appropriate for many reasons. The word activism is often used synonymously with protest or dissent as well, but activism can stem from any number of political orientations and take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing businesses, rallies, street marches, strikes, both work stoppages and hunger strikes, or even guerrilla tactics.

I am still riding the fence about whether or not my research can be deemed as activism. I'll have to continue processing this =)

Paula's Taco Salad

Effing delish. It reminds me of all the summer grilling parties in Mt. P! Anyway, her "secret" was to use Doritos and to make sure not to stir everything together until immediately before eating... which is why my version is also wonderful. Plus I used the low-cal Western dressing. Yes, it's white-trash-tastic.

Javier Bardem? Yes Please!

Many found the story inspiring, many found it patronizing. I hate Julia Roberts, but I'm still waiting patiently for the film version of "Eat, Pray, Love." The release date is August 13th and people are already bitching about it... read here! Anyway, maybe I'll re-read the book this summer so I can decide whether or not it will still have the impact on me that I thought it did back in 2007. Now to find my copy... oh wait, I lent it to some illiterate hoe-bag. Oops.

Sweatshop warriors: Immigrant women workers take on the global factory By Miriam Ching Yoon Louie

Ok, not sure what I'm reading so I'll try for most of it =)





Looking at Louie's text, I found that the intricate stories of the Chinese, Korean, and Mexican immigrant women workers permeated deeply. On p. 3 Louie acknowledged that "the powerful and the priviledged often stifle these women's voices."

Other points that I latched on to (and can also serve to augment my research interests) are as follows:

- subcontracting through immigrant women workers is carried through in many industries globally and non-globalized locally-based sectors (e.g. food processing, restaurants, service, etc.)

- the global sweatshop pyramid of exploitation comes clothed in the specific gender, race, class, and national garments of its workers, subcontractors, and elit (p. 6)

- Louie (p. 11) generated 5 main themes from the women's stories:

a. the women worked in their homelands, within economies that have been increasingly integrated
into the global sweatshop

b. the women migrated to urban centers inside their rapidly industrialized countries, and to the
US, the country whose dominance has so deeply influenced the destinies of their homelands

c. the women worked in the sweathsop segments of the US labor market

d. the women chronicled the painful yet liberating process through which they changed from being
sweatshop industry workers to sweatshop warriors

e. the women helped build workers' centers that enabled them to both resist the oppressions they
face and begin to fashion new ways to work, live, think, and create

Some questions:

What is a 'sweatshop' and how can Western perspectives influence that definition?

How/why is the turn from 'workers' to 'warriors' significant?

What changes have we witnessed since the publication of this text?

Does Louie ever run the risk of romanticizing the discourses of immigrant women workers due in part because of her anecdotal writing style? Why or why not? Can this be detrimental to her argument? Expound.

Chpts. 1 & 3 Global Sex Workers

In Chpt. 1, Doezema does a good job situating the notion of "choice" that continues to underly most of our discussions of women's empowerment. Also, interestingly, I found his arguments well-established by associating them with the 1995 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing. I've done a lot of analysis of Hillary Rodham Clinton's monumental speeches over that weekend. They were very powerful at the time and still remain stellar examples of feminist rhetoric. Portions of her talks can be found here (if interested.)

Ok, sorry about the tangent... moving on. Doezema argues that the voluntary/forced dichotomy of analyzing sex workers the the wrong theoretical approach because it does not serve the human rights initiatives that sex worker activists set out to strive for. The history of prostitution internationally was helpful, talking about the move from Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) and Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women (GAATW) and beyond to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (arguing that prostitution itself is a human rights violation.) The wording of the phrase prostitution as a matter of personal choice and a form of work was also addressed from the perspectives of the abolitionist, the regulationist, and anti-trafficking groups. We can read that there are several assumptions associated with the words within the phrase:

prostitute as fallen woman

prostitute is reliant on vices, abused, weak, vane, a victim, or stupid

prostitute as agent who willingly chooses her occupation was unimaginable

prostitute as a coerced innocent (children, poor, debt-bonded, and sexless (thus beyond guilt))

"the most frightening division created by the voluntary/forced dichotomy is that of sex workers into guilty/"voluntary" and innocent/"forced" prostitutes, which reinforces the belief that women who transgress sexual norms deserve to be punished" (p. 42)

In Chapt. 3, Bindman quickly investigates her unique perspective on slavery in the sex industry. Drawing upon the beliefs of Anti-Slavery International, we see that the major characteristics of slavery are violent (impunity, death, loss of freedom) and closely related to the lack of citizenship rights while also paralleling prostitution in many forms.

Bindman argues, "An employment or labor perspective, designating prostitution as sex work, can bring this work into the mainstream debate on human, women's and workers' rights" (pp. 65-66) We see that there are many connections with this framework and our own discussions regarding global feminisms. Some questions that she poses can reverberate within our talks:

Can we tell such people what they may or may not do?

Do they deserve anything less than the best possible conditions sought for other workers?

Can we tell them that we would take away their power to choose this occupation, maybe condemning them to worse conditions in another field?

Utensils Are Like Pants...

Who needs them? That's kind of what I was thinking when I mixed together some tomatoes and mozzarella yesterday. I felt like eating this whole dish... considering this was the only good thing about the day:

Trying to figure out this computer business.... off to brave the circus =(

The Whiter the Bread the Quicker You're Dead

That's what they say... and I know I need more fiber... so I made this:

Broccoli slaw salad with Thai peanut dressing. Yum.

Just thought I would share. Also, my laptop is trying to destroy my life and rob me of all my cash... so if I seem really unproductive and/or distant it's because I have not much contact with the the technological aspect of my life (which is a good portion of it) for the next few days until it gets fixed. This should make for an interesting presentation on Tuesday.

Never again will I let myself have such an epic, monumental "freak out" as I did last night. Never shedding another tear over a lifeless POS. Only robot tears from now on. Oh yeah, and I FUCKING HATE YOU DELL COMPUTER SYSTEMS!

Ok, moving forward. Going to finish my coursework on a high note... even if I have to do the brunt of it from Jerome (ironically on a Dell.)

Chpt. 11 Feminism/Postmodernism/Development

It struck me in the overview of this book that the main premise was "attempting a workable communication between Western theory and Third World practice." Hmmmmm well we'll see how that pans out with Rathgeber's writing:




The move to replace the word "women" with "gender" constituted the Women in Development (WID) approach led to the Gender and Development (GAD) approach.

An example of a policy can be found at the Australian Agency for International Development... obviously since 1997 this type of policy has undergone many changes, hence the turn toward the GAD approach. We can see this evidenced by NGOs such as the International Center for Research on Women.

Needless to say, this was a really boring read. I was hoping to gain a better perspective about the movements toward ACTION, but the chapter sort of lacked that emphasis. Anyway, here are a few pertinent concepts that I gathered:

projects undertaken from a GAD perspective will allow for more indigenous voices to be heard (p. 220)

the condition (practical gender interests) and position (strategic gender interests) of women (p. 206)

the situation of women is that of many power relations (p. 207)

gender and technology issues are the locus of many GAD opportunities (p. 216-217)

So, from a postmodern feminist perspective, why is this turn significant? Where is the "action" implicated?

Ok, gotta go. Can't wait to briefly address this Tuesday.

Oops I Forgot.... Everyone is Loco

I just stumbled back across this in my inbox... and thought I would share it now:


Subject: A dog's mind
From: tracku [email omitted to protect the "innocent"]
Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 6:53 PM
To:Jenny Anne Armentrout

So, I've finished my masters in communication studies. Defended my thesis fall semester. I'm cruising around, looking for erudite-sounding stuff to put in my statement of teaching philosophy (looking for comm studies jobs, of course), and DAMN! I really don't want to be sleep-shanked, so I am exercising considerable restraint on the plagiarism front, but...have I said this?...Damn! This has to be the single most creative (is that overstating?) title I've ever laughed over. And yes, it's a question that I see running through my dog's mind every time we go for a run.

I've never been to Bowling Green, but I once hitchhiked across (well, halfway across) the country and got a ride with a professor from Bowling Green U in a bright green Volkswagon beetle. He gave me a ride for, oh, probably two days, hundreds of miles, and a strange, fascinating elixer of conversation. Don't know his name or what he taught, but if you see a guy driving a bright green VW bug, please hug him, thank him for me, and then just walk away. It'll completely freak him out. Course, this was almost 30 years ago, so...

I am, of course, putting off this writing project, thus my pressing need to write to you right now - when I should be composing my own teaching philosophy rendition. But, seriously, after reading your title - the rest of it was pretty good, too, but that title! - how can I hope to compete? My only hope is that you're not competing with me for comm studies teaching jobs next fall...but you probably are. Oh well, I'm older and wiser, and I thought I was creativer than most, but - not to be redundant, but damn!

So, basically, I'm just writing to say I like your style, your spunk (I hate that word, but it "communicates"), your bullshittishness. If I were on the hiring committee with a choice between someone whose teaching philosophy was entitled "My Teaching Philosophy" versus "Should I eat that...?," you'd have the job and I wouldn't even have to read the rest of it! I realize that's your blog's name and not just your TP title, but you could apply it to just about anything. I'm thinking about lettering it onto my favorite t-shirt.

Wish me luck on my teaching-job search, if we're not competing for the same jobs. You'll have shinier letters in your honorific (mine is B.A.-M.A.-M.A, sounds like Banana or Obama, or maybe a combo), so we're probably going after different jobs (I just sent a cv to a junior college in Texas!), so it's safe to wish me luck.

Hope we can be long-distance correspondence-ers. :)

Seeya!
[Name omitted to protect the "innocent"]
University of Montana



So did you all read this? Seriously WTF? Next thing I know I'll be getting emails from Phil Coultrip begging for that laptop password! As long as I don't find anything more disgusting... or weird... or crazy amidst all my other messages. It's sort of like finding a pile of cat puke in the morning. Or this:

Nevertheless unsettling =(

Nothing Rhymes with February

I hate this month. I don't know if I mentioned that lately... but I'm trying to turn this frown upside down. I'm doing something a little insane to rail against the monotony. So here's my plan: I'm adhering to the Lenten tradition of giving up a part of my lifestyle (and then other things as long as it becomes a part of my routine.) No, I'm sure as hell not doing this for religious purposes, but it's always a good mechanism for roping myself into some illusion of "diligence" and a way to challenge myself. For the next 40 days I'm going to get in the zone of not ingesting any food after 7p.

That's it. I know, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but it is for me.

Already gave up cigarettes (and by the beginning of May I won't be able to smoke in MI at all.)

Hardly drink anymore.

Only eat.

So, I'll wrangle that in again for a while. NO SUSTENANCE AFTER 7P.

Ok, lot's of work to do. Just finished the presentation for the DESIRE Diversity workshop at Otterbein on Tues:

Desire Scholars Workshop Presentation

View more presentations from guest649d6d.

On to more writing. Maybe I'll pinch out a stupid little "work of art" for my Stats class too. But I hate it. And I plan to watch this in a few minutes to try and defrag (don't ask):

I miss everyone a lot, but I'm going to murder this month and then be home by March 3rd. Ciao xo