A celebration of procrastination

Seth Stevenson of Slate writes a letter to the “chronically procrastinating young person” – check it out.

Let’s talk politics.

Hillary Clinton spoke to The Washington Post about sexism in the 2008 presidential campaign.

“The manifestation of some of the sexism that has gone on in this campaign is somehow more respectable, or at least more accepted, and . . . there should be equal rejection of the sexism and the racism when it raises its ugly head,” she said. “It does seem as though the press at least is not as bothered by the incredible vitriol that has been engendered by the comments by people who are nothing but misogynists.”

Is the sexism in the media coverage related to the lack of women in executive positions in the newsroom?

Something to consider.

Got an extra 100 bucks lying around… plus a little more for a plane ticket? Check this out:

http://www.jaws.org/events/2008/camp/index.html

Something interesting to do in the fall when you hit those first-semester-of-a-new-school-year blues.

TRY IT: The Wikipedia game.

Best played with two people. Each person comes up with a start and an end point. One person might say “Start at ‘San Diego’ and get to ‘World War II.’” The other person might say, “Start at ‘Jay-Z’ and get to ‘Harvard University.’” Then, both go to Wikipedia and see how quickly they can get from one point to another, using links within the articles. Whoever reaches their point quickest wins. The goal is to make each challenge as difficult as possible, picking two subjects that are vastly different from one another or at least not related in any way.

Boozeroom?

This fascinating article by Jack Shafer is well worth a read. In his opinion, chain-smoking alcoholics still make the best journalists, and newspapers should stop being so square and start letting their reporters keep handles of vodka in their desk drawers and light up during meetings. He also has some interesting ideas about newsroom interactions.

And in the old days, great status was bestowed upon the foulest mouth in the newsroom. Today, that sort of talk will earn you a write-up from HR for creating a climate of sexual harassment. Paradoxically, the language and subjects now banned as inappropriate inside the newsroom are routinely found inside the pages of the newspaper.

Oh, right, that’s exactly what we need. A bunch of men competing to see who has the “foulest mouth.” But, hey, a shot every now and then might be fun…

The truth is just the plain picture.

My favorite interview ever.

TRY IT: Breathing colors.

Almost as good as smoking a Nat Sherman Fantasia.

1. Sit back / lie down and relax. Preferably someplace quiet. And peaceful. Keep your breathing deep and regular, as you would during any other meditative exercise.

2. Imagine your body engulfed by a bright, white light that comes down from the heavens and spreads, like oil, from your head down to your toes, seeping in through your pores and filling you with warmth. Keep this image for about two minutes.

3. Next, imagine yourself surrounded by a different color, one of your choosing. Red, yellow and orange should be visualized as coming up from the ground and moving up, around and through your body. Blue, violet and indigo should follow the same pattern as the original white light. Green should be seen as entering the body through the navel and spreading into each of the different limbs. As you exhale, imagine the color changing into its complementary color (its opposite on the color wheel).

4. When finished, relax for two more minutes while imagining the white light again. Then get ready to face the world.

Sex bombs.

As women journalists, we may have to deal with sexism and harassment here in the United States, but in other countries, such as Afghanistan, the risks for women involved with the news industry are much greater. Farida Nekzad, the editor-in-chief of Pajhwok News Agency (Afghanistan’s only independent news agency), talks to Paul Jay of Real News about the dangers she and her female colleagues face on a day-to-day basis. Check it out:

A conversation.

HIM: So, does the world of journalism still operate like it did in the 1940s?

ME: What do you mean?

HIM: Oh, you know, does everyone still wear hats and sit around smoking Parliaments all day? Has anyone ever grabbed your ass and called you “Toots”?

ME: [after a long, thoughtful pause] Well… I’ve never been called “Toots.”

Why, hello there.

We’re women journalists and, by nature, we refuse to be quiet. This is our blog.