Letters to the Editor
Leeandra Nolting
Published Letters: 177 Editor's Choice: 10
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firefly82--
[Read the article: Are urbane tomboys truer feminists?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've never bought the name-brand Converse--can't see spending $60 for a pair of canvas sneakers. I get Target's Converse knockoffs--I go through a pair about every six months, but at 5-10 bucks a pop, I'm OK with that.
You say you work with dancers; I'm assuming that means, um, regular dancers and not "exotic" ones. You know any company who makes dark brown or red low-heeled character shoes in wide widths? I have to dress up for/walk to work/be on my feet a lot, and these are the only women's "dress" shoes I've found that don't hurt. (I can't wear ballet flats or anything without a strap to hold it on because my feet are shaped like a duck's--really narrow heels and really wide toe boxes.)Unfortunately, I've only been able to find character shoes in black and what can best be described as band-aid color.
(I do have the option of "dressing down" for work, "The Man" doesn't dictate my clothing...but I work for commission selling art. I gotta wear what sells the pictures to pay the rent!)
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go where it's warm and where your boyfriend is...
[Read the article: Of Ph.D.s, gay lovers, slave narratives and the Ivy League]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Seriously. And look at the folks you will be working with: do you actually LIKE them?
Opinions are divided on the importance of the rankings of Ph.D. programs in the academic job market, which is shaky at best. A degree from the #1 school isn't a guarantee of a job, and even if it was, THAT isn't a guarantee of happiness.
I'm a 27-year-old M.F.A. in Creative Writing as well (although I was the opposite of the LW--born and raised in the snowy Midwest and went to New Orleans for graduate school.) It was about five-six years ago that I was applying to programs--at the time, I was an Americorps volunteer in Appalachia and had a take home pay of $125 a month. My undergrad profs advised me to apply to at least ten programs--but I could only afford the app fees for three--Florida State, the University of Memphis, and the University of New Orleans. I ended up getting accepted to all three.
I knew I wanted to live in New Orleans, but their program wasn't nearly as highly ranked as FSU's or programs in other, colder parts of the country. I was specifically told NOT to go to New Orleans by two of the three professors who wrote recommendation letters for me. I was chided to not just "look at schools where it's warm and sunny; look for what the program is like and what kind of job you can get afterwards."
The third professor told me to go where I would be happy now because life wouldn't wait up for me then magically start when I got my degree. I wasn't sure I wanted to teach afterwards (and now, I'm damn sure I don't), and there was nothing preventing me from writing while working a non-academic (and better-paying) job after getting my degree.
The last five years have been the happiest of my life, and moving here was the best decision I ever made.
Also, keep in mind you don't NEED a Ph.D. to research/write about slave narratives. No pop publisher will publish a lit crit of it and no academic publisher will take it without the Ph.D.? So? Is that so much sadder than getting published and then seeing your book rot away in the back of university libraries, rarely touched except by plagiarizing, desperate students?
Go where you will be happy NOW. I know how long and miserable Midwestern winters can be.
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wasn't victor/victoria
[Read the article: The funny thing about black men in dresses]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]about a woman opera singer (Julie Andrews) who can only get singing gigs by pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman?
The fellas in "Some Like It Hot" were white, as well as ALL the guys from Monty Python, and didn't the guy who played Jethro on "The Beverly Hillbillies" also play his twin sister, Jethrine?
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Tracy: unless you're actually GOING to scratch your own face off...
[Read the article: Femininity vs. hipster coolness]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...skip the video, or provide a transcript (not just a re-cap).
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has anyone said they LIKE the videos?
[Read the article: Big Think: ACLU president on the perils of government secrecy]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've not seen ONE response where people say they like them better than the written articles, and PLENTY of negative response.
PROVIDE A TRANSCRIPT. I'm guessing you don't just make this up as you go along, so how long would it take to cut-and-paste what you're reading onto the website? As it is, deaf/hard-of-hearing people are automatically excluded from the discussion on these video-only posts.
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nail polish is a GREAT way to get toddler girls to sit still
[Read the article: It's no jet pack, but it ain't bad]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For when you need them to not get into anything and everything--paint their nails, tell them you've given them a manicure, and that they have to be very careful not to smudge up their fingers because the polish needs time to dry. Seriously--you can buy a good fifteen minutes to a half-hour of peace and quiest with this.
(Note: I don't advocate little girls not getting their hands dirty or being inactive or anything like that. This is just something I picked up while babysitting and used to get the kid to STAY IN BED till she fell asleep during my weekly babysitting gig.)
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you know, I don't always agree with what my preacher says
[Read the article: Rev. Jeremiah Wright isn't the problem]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]We're two separate people.
If we want to know what Obama thinks about x-y-z- issue, ASK OBAMA.
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sarcasm much?
[Read the article: Heidi Montag, "feminist hero"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Wasn't the 1998 "Is Feminism Dead?" article about how feminism has devolved into something rather silly? The article was wrong, of course--it focused on the PERCEPTION of modern feminism as something reduced to the silliness of Ally McBeal, rather than the reality of the serious lobbying, writing, organizing, debating, etc. going on.
Anyway, I do think Bellafante was being sarcastic in this review of "The Hills." (No, I have not seen the show, though it seems like the kind of guilty-pleasure train wreck that I could get addicted to looking at.)