It’s time for another Sunday blog roll.  Here are links that I like this week:

Iconography: Covering Up Race – at Bitch magazine.  A look into a disturbing trend in YA publishing.  Books that have people of color as their protagonists are being whitewashed – as in, the book covers will display white people.

Review in Conversation: Black Swan – at Bitch Flicks.  A discussion about Black Swan and its levels of feminism or anti-feminism.  I saw the movie twice and loved it, but the reviewers have interesting points about Barbara Hershey’s stage mother character and a woman’s impossible pursuit of perfection.

Reasoning with Vampires – a Tumblr that is made of win.  Every day – sometimes even twice a day – the owner will post an excerpt of one of the Twilight books and mock Stephenie Meyer’s awful prose.  The whole account is made of win.

Trailer for the movie, The Tree of Life.  This ran before Black Swan. I missed the trailers the first time I saw it, but saw it the second time.  I’m linking to it because I’ll give five dollars to the first person who can tell me what the hell this movie is about, without having to look it up.  Is Brad Pitt Sean Penn’s father…from the past?  Is this some futuristic dystopian society where soldiers are tear-gassing neighborhood kids…except it looks like the 50s?  I DON’T GET IT.

Chipping Away at Roe…and the Definition of Rape – at Shakesville.  This isn’t so much a link I like, as a link that is necessary to read because it’s infuriating.  The House wants to introduce an anti-abortion measure that would restrict and chip away at the definition of rape.  Whether one agrees with abortion or not, this measure is horrifying.  My representative in Congress does not support this bill, thank God, but if yours does, you should write letters, emails, or call.

It’s Sunday and time for another quick list of links I’ve enjoyed from this past week.

The Male Beauty Contest Judged by Women – from BBC News.  A really interesting article about the Wodaabe men in the Niger who participate in beauty contests judged by women.  The female judges may take the winners as lovers afterward.  It’s a fascinating look into what constitutes beauty in another culture.

Are You Miss Represented? – from The Salt Lake Tribune.  Information about a documentary that spotlights the lack of good roles for women in film.

Hey Girl, Bet You Didn’t Know I Was a Feminist – from Feminist Fatale.  This post is about a month old but I just stumbled on it and thought it was worth posting.  Ryan Gosling speaks about his movie Blue Valentine, how it was originally rated NC-17 before the film won the appeal to change it to being R-rated, and how the movie industry will rate films depicting violence against women as PG-13 or R, but a woman enjoying her sexuality can be slammed with an NC-17 rating.  I never had an opinion either way on Ryan Gosling, but now I like him and will make a point of seeing his movies.

Hipster Superheroes – from College Humor.  Just watch.  Very good for the LULZ.

And finally, a YouTube video that I cannot believe I wasn’t aware of until now: Jane Austen’s Fight Club.

Poor Catherine Morland and Anne Elliot don’t get to play.

Only one link this Sunday, and a serious one.  My good friend Tim was hurt in a random act of violence last month and he’s been in the hospital since then, in the brain injury unit.  His recovery has been good so far, but he doesn’t have health insurance.  He’s a wonderful, compassionate, talented man and a great musician.  I’m posting a link to Tim’s Fund Page in case anyone has the means or desire to contribute to his fund.

It’s another Sunday and time for me to post 5 links I’ve liked over the past week.

That’s What She Said – a tumblr that posts funny, insightful, or interesting quotes from famous women.  The latest one is from Lady Gaga; the first was from Virginia Woolf.  I also just plain enjoy anything attached to “That’s what she said” (which I was saying long before I ever watched a single episode of the US Office, mmmkay?)

The Janeite Times, No. 2 – over at AustenBlog.  Basically, Jane Austen is still everywhere, and that makes me happy.

It Gets Better – The MUSIC VIDEO! – The It Gets Better campaign becomes fun! A great message packaged in a bouncy dance number!

Film Corner – At Shakesville, Melissa McEwan talks about the sexism and implied violence in a movie advertisement for Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston’s latest work of “art.”  When I first read the post, I thought, “Okay, that’s reading a little too much into a poster, don’t you think?”  But then I looked at it again, and now I can’t un-see it.  I don’t believe the sexism there is intentional at all, but not all sexism IS intentional.  Worth thinking about.

A Turning Point in the Discourse, But In Which Direction? – On a much more serious note, this is an editorial that appeared in yesterday’s New York Times, related to the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Gilford.  It talks about the way politicians and activists use loaded language and hyperbole to make their points without considering the consequences.  How much I agree with this editorial, I’m not sure yet – I have to think on it a little more – but it’s definitely a worthwhile read.  Also worthwhile to notice?  It’s quite funny to me, in a “bitterly ironic” way rather than a “ha ha, that’s hysterical” way, that the advertisement posted right next to the editorial…is for a Firearms Training Institute. I just…I don’t even know.

Well, it’s the beginning of a new year (unless you’re Jewish or Chinese).  One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to blog every day, and then yesterday I was too busy recovering from New Year’s Eve to update.  I should have made it a resolution to break my resolutions as quickly as possible, because I already have a head start on that.

Two resolutions I am determined to keep: a) to make every Sunday blog post focused on links that I like, and b) to learn how to spell “plagiarism” correctly without having to look it up.  Plaigarism is one of those words that I always have trouble spelling – oops, did it again.

So, to kick off a new tradition (an oxymoron if I ever heard one), here are 5 links that I like.  These links will all relate to feminism, women, and/or comedy.  I post links I find thought-provoking, of general interest, or just plain funny:

Honest New Year’s Resolutions – at The Sangfroid.  The author lists a few typical New Year’s Resolutions and then writes the real resolutions underneath.  My favorite is the honest alternative to “Do one good thing a day,” because come on. “Do one good thing a day?”  To quote Buffy, “Can you vague that up for me?”

A Glimpse into SuperMommy’s OCD and Best Pictures of the Year – at Becoming SuperMommy.  This blog is written by an old friend of mine from elementary school, and she writes about her experiences with her adorable twin baby girls.  Cute babies are cute.

The Porn King with a Heart of Gold – at Shakesville.  Steve Hirsch, a porn kingpin, is, essentially, trying to publicly coerce Nadya Suleman (the Octomom) into doing porn, or at least working for his company.  He’s trying to buy her mortgage for leverage.  Melissa McEwan discusses why this is very messed-up.  Me, I wonder how long it will take for the public to make nasty comments about Suleman, rather than Hirsch, because she somehow “deserves” this.  *sets timer*

Kanye’s Leaked Monster Video: Sexy Dead Girls, Decapitated Heads, and Other Violence Against Women – at The Frisky.  Kanye West’s “Monster” video shows that dead chicks are hot and it’s fun to eroticize violence against women.  Who wants to bet that Kanye will not receive nearly as much flack for this as he did for interrupting Taylor Swift at the VMAs?  I bet a trillion dollars.

The Cutest Thing in the World – Recently, Glee introduced a new character named Blaine, and before I could even open my mouth to make the obligatory Waiting for Guffman reference, I heard the boy sing, and lo, it was beautiful to behold.  Blaine is played by Darren Criss, the most adorable guy in the whole wide world.  He recently did a Rolling Stone interview where he promised to sing all of his answers…and he did. I already loved him after watching him on Glee and A Very Potter Musical, but after this interview…well, let’s just say I would be signing my posts “Mrs. Darren Criss” if I weren’t so committed to keeping my name after marriage.