Dora the Explorer and the global economy

Check out this wonderfully enlightening piece from Bitch Magazine about the socioeconomic realities of U.S. consumer relationships with Latina labor, in contrast to the unreality American parents love about the hit children’s cartoon Dora the Explorer. Here’s just a sample:
Throughout her adventures, Dora enjoys an unusual geographic mobility, crossing landscapes but never distinct borders, always [...]

NYT: College grads taking the big paycheck over service

The New York Times has an article today about a trend in which students at top universities (aka, Harvard and the other Ivies) seem to be taking default paths toward investment jobs after graduation. The piece contains interviews with a few professors and students who say they’re troubled that so many of the nation’s brightest [...]

Martyn Joseph and some good old-fashioned protest music

So this guy, Martyn Joseph, opened for Ani last night. Obviously he’s a talented guitarist and he has a nice voice, but he sings pretty generic protest music. Still, I really enjoyed it, especially in a live setting. Plus, I will probably always have a soft spot for anti-war music or anyone who can write [...]

Turkey hits a comeback turkey

(you know how in bowling, if you get three strikes in a row, they call it turkey? Yeah, I was trying to be punny)
The comeback kids of this Euro Cup, a Turkey team nobody thought would make past the first round, have just beaten 5-1 favored Croatia after going to penalty kicks after a [...]

Ani Difranco + Solstice Celebration + Me = Love

One of my faaaave feminist artists, Ani Difranco, is performing tomorrow night for a solstice festival (Happy birthday K!). It promises to provide loads of entertainment and lots of hippy love.

New MTV show to unspoil spoiled rich kids?

Latoya at Racialicious brings MTV’s latest “reality” tv endeavor to our attention:
Watching My Super Sweet 16 can give us a glimpse of “the good life.” Amidst the demanding divas and epic meltdowns that lead up to insanely over-the-top teenage birthday bashes, we get a look at the posh lives of wealthy families. And while we [...]

World Cup 2010: At whose cost?

Dave Zirin at The Nation reports that preparations for World Cup 2010 are likely to exacerbate violence and unrest in the host country, South Africa.
Cities such as Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg will be the nexus for thousands of foreign fans and dignitaries. Meanwhile, the building of five new mega-stadiums would, according to some South [...]

AC/DC sign with Wal-Mart?

Rolling Stone reports that AC/DC will be following the path of several other artists by selling their new album exclusively through Wal-Mart this fall. By foregoing a deal with a record label, and instead going directly through a retailer, AC/DC and others are able to sell their albums to customers for $15, about $5 less [...]

NBA Finals: Ratings, Rivalries, Rigging

Last year when the San Antonio Spurs took on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, the television ratings were some of the lowest of all time for Finals games shown during primetime. But last night’s game three in the series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics brought the NBA the highest ratings [...]

An American Girl and the Great Depression

This weekend Kitt Kittredge: An American Girl opens in theaters. The movie is based on a series of books about American Girl character/doll, Kitt Kittredge. While I was totally into American Girl dolls and their books as a kid, I think Kitt was introduced to the group a few years after my American Girl prime. [...]