Feminism is dead - really?

I got howled down at dinner last night when i said "feminism is dead"... oddly enough it was mainly the male contingent who were assuring me that women have never had it so good. The most positive female comment was that young women are so much more confident these days.

i agree... but there's confidence and there's the real world. Power, security and wealth are still largely male domains. Yes, there are more women bank managers... but i think being a bank manager has become a downgraded job. There are still very few female CEOs, board leaders, Exec Directors, Ministers etc.

what gets my goat! is that girls are proud of their right to take all their clothes off and have casual sex. YYAAYY! But whose best interest is being served? You still can't get paid! Why not legitimise sex work if we're going to make an industry out of promoting the sexualisation of women.

show me the money!

The Death of The Internet?

or is this another Y2K?

I really think that few of us spend time thinking about how the internet and our computers work and who owns and controls the raw resources.

It's like oil and other energy sources.

Female Inventor - Frances Gabe - Self Cleaning House

"Housework is a thankless, unending job, a nerve-twangling bore. Who wants it? Nobody! With my jaw set hard I was determined that there had to be a better way!" Frances Gabe, of Newberg, Oregon, was driven by her hatred of housecleaning to develop one of the most radical and yet practical inventions of all time: the self-cleaning house.

Each of the rooms of Gabe's house has a 10-inch square "Cleaning/ Drying/ Heating/ Cooling" apparatus at the center of its ceiling. At the touch of a button, this unit first emits a powerful spray of soapy water over the room, then rinses, then blow-dries the entire area. The rooms' floors are sloped slightly toward the corners to allow excess water to run off; vulnerable or valuable objects are protected under glass. The overall effect has been compared to an automated car wash---by admirers as well as critics.

More specifically, dishes are cleaned, dried and stored inside a cupboard which is also a dishwasher; clothes are cleaned, dried and stored while hanging in a closet which is also a washing machine/ dryer. The house's sinks, tubs and toilets are self-cleaning; the bookshelves dust themselves.

After 40 years of work and 68 devices, Gabe is still fine-tuning her house. But the final product is no mere science fiction or fantasy: Gabe actually lives in her patented, prototype home. It is no surprise that Gabe has earned the keen interest and strong support of various inventors' organizations. For her innovations clearly have great potential to benefit overworked homeowners as well as the physically challenged. Although Gabe's house may be a bit too practical for some people's taste, it is likely that many of her conveniences, and perhaps even houses modeled on hers, will be adopted for use in time to come.

Copyright © Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT School of Engineering

Web 2.0

Azabela returns

This blog celebrates my youngest daughter's mythical creation "Azabel the Green Reaper", who sleeps with her sword. She screams and leaps as well. After years of wanting to be a woman warrior and of wanting a website or meeting place for other female fighters, I am finally taking action. Take notice.
Here is where I hope to revisit my collection of great women's science fiction and fantasy, epic adventure characters and women writers. I make no apology for straying wherever my interest leads me, from inspiring films and paintings to real life female fighters I train with like Holly Fernley, 5 times world champion kickboxer, and Eleni, the youngest female Tae Kwondo junior blackbelt in Australia (she's 6).
While I'm throwing down my metaphorical gauntlet, here goes for 2006:

• Blackbelt
• Sparring and my first ever tournament (or two)
• Loss of another 10 to 12 kilos
• Full splits (give or take a couple of inches)
• Cardio - 3 rounds of 2 minutes non stop kicking
• Friday Night Female Fight Club - training and socialising once a month with all the other women i'm running into.
• plus keeping my daughters going till they get their black belts - which is probably before mine
  

copied from earlier blog - january 2006