Scott studied the stained glass window in the chapel. The hundred-year-old painted faces of St. Sophia and her three murdered daughters stared back at him impassively. Amazing that the painted glass could have such brilliant color and realistic pictures over a hundred years after it was first created. Since he had a few hours between his classes, he had decided to explore the historic campus and take some pictures to send to his parents. First up was the soaring red-brick main building and its Italianate chapel. Although Scott wasn't Catholic like the College of St. Sophia was, he had heard that the chapel was stunning, and he was here to see it himself and take some pictures.
"Photography's not allowed with a flash," said a female voice behind him.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Seduced by the Stage
I love performance. Watching it, reviewing it, discussing it, doing it. I was in The Vagina Monologues for four years in undergrad, and I love the theater, concerts, dance shows, and spoken word. Nowadays, I've gotten into the spoken word scene. After a scary creative dry spell for nearly a year (eek!), I now am back to reading at open mic nights. I tend to write rhyming poems with a somewhat confessional style and self-aware stage presence, and I'm pretty good at gauging what to read for which audiences. Although I wouldn't say I'm a professional by any means, I've become a familiar sight at city and suburban events and can be counted on to get up and read or recite.
It's weird in a way. I mean, many people see public speaking as scary, but I don't. My job requires public speaking, which I really enjoy, but I also love being creative and reading my own material.
I don't really know what's got into me, but now that I have gotten back into writing and performing, I find it strangely addicting as a hobby. Just the rush of people applauding (got a standing o for my girl-powered "The Princess Who Rescued Herself" at a Lincoln Park event) when I finish or snapping when I say something that resonates with them is enough to put me on a high for the rest of the day. When I talk to the other artists afterward and find out what they're all about, I'm excited to get to know them and answer their questions about me as well. When I've volunteered to read, I get really excited and will spend hours reciting and tweaking what I've written days and weeks before the event. I'll think about who might be there, what their reactions might be, and how I can make something that will really be meaningful. I've read uplifting anthemic numbers at my grad school's transformative justice nights, confessional poems at all-female literary salons at the north side bookstore, and road poems at my old hometown's art walks. I cheer on the other artists, join in on call-and-responses, and give a friend candid advice when she tries going backed up the first time.
It's oddly seductive. I keep coming back and wanting more. Wanting to do more.
It's weird in a way. I mean, many people see public speaking as scary, but I don't. My job requires public speaking, which I really enjoy, but I also love being creative and reading my own material.
I don't really know what's got into me, but now that I have gotten back into writing and performing, I find it strangely addicting as a hobby. Just the rush of people applauding (got a standing o for my girl-powered "The Princess Who Rescued Herself" at a Lincoln Park event) when I finish or snapping when I say something that resonates with them is enough to put me on a high for the rest of the day. When I talk to the other artists afterward and find out what they're all about, I'm excited to get to know them and answer their questions about me as well. When I've volunteered to read, I get really excited and will spend hours reciting and tweaking what I've written days and weeks before the event. I'll think about who might be there, what their reactions might be, and how I can make something that will really be meaningful. I've read uplifting anthemic numbers at my grad school's transformative justice nights, confessional poems at all-female literary salons at the north side bookstore, and road poems at my old hometown's art walks. I cheer on the other artists, join in on call-and-responses, and give a friend candid advice when she tries going backed up the first time.
It's oddly seductive. I keep coming back and wanting more. Wanting to do more.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
An open letter to that telemarketer who called my cell phone
Hello telemarketer who called my cell phone the other day,
Okay, I get it. Your job is tough. While I am still majorly peeved that you didn't seem to know that I'm on a "do not call" list, I can understand how tedious your job must be, and I feel for you. Really, I do.
But listen, I have totally got a bone to pick with you. First, I at first couldn't even tell you were a telemarketer when you asked for me. The beauty of having a difficult-to-say last name effectively screens out people I don't wish to talk to! Usually, when one of your ilk calls and asks to speak to "Ms. Insert-Totally-Mangled-Version-of-My-Name-Here," I usually say in my most NPR voice, "I'm sorry, dear. There's no Ms. Insert-Totally-Mangled-Version-of-My-Name-Here living here." Because, well, it's a true statement!
But you actually knew how to say my name! Mad props. Until THIS popped out of your mouth--
"Um, yes, could I speak to the man of the household please?"
EXCUSE ME???
There IS NO MAN of this household! If you wanted to speak to the "head of household," that would be me. Because I'm the only one in this household! Despite my the fact that Alex can also be a guy name, there is no man living here. My g-d, what is this, 1950???
Listen, telemarketer, if you actually want business, you may want to realize that there are many, many households that don't have a "man of the household." Single, divorced, same-sex couples, genderqueer/gender non-conforming, roomies, the list goes on. By leaving all of us out, you've just alienated a big chunk of a potential customer base. But I don't know what you were selling because I was so pissed I hung up shortly after that.
Please use this as a teachable moment. And please--check the Do Not Call list before you call. I'm on there, so I am hoping this is the first and last time I'll have to hear that question.
Not the man of a household (but totally the head of the household),
Revel
Okay, I get it. Your job is tough. While I am still majorly peeved that you didn't seem to know that I'm on a "do not call" list, I can understand how tedious your job must be, and I feel for you. Really, I do.
But listen, I have totally got a bone to pick with you. First, I at first couldn't even tell you were a telemarketer when you asked for me. The beauty of having a difficult-to-say last name effectively screens out people I don't wish to talk to! Usually, when one of your ilk calls and asks to speak to "Ms. Insert-Totally-Mangled-Version-of-My-Name-Here," I usually say in my most NPR voice, "I'm sorry, dear. There's no Ms. Insert-Totally-Mangled-Version-of-My-Name-Here living here." Because, well, it's a true statement!
But you actually knew how to say my name! Mad props. Until THIS popped out of your mouth--
"Um, yes, could I speak to the man of the household please?"
EXCUSE ME???
There IS NO MAN of this household! If you wanted to speak to the "head of household," that would be me. Because I'm the only one in this household! Despite my the fact that Alex can also be a guy name, there is no man living here. My g-d, what is this, 1950???
Listen, telemarketer, if you actually want business, you may want to realize that there are many, many households that don't have a "man of the household." Single, divorced, same-sex couples, genderqueer/gender non-conforming, roomies, the list goes on. By leaving all of us out, you've just alienated a big chunk of a potential customer base. But I don't know what you were selling because I was so pissed I hung up shortly after that.
Please use this as a teachable moment. And please--check the Do Not Call list before you call. I'm on there, so I am hoping this is the first and last time I'll have to hear that question.
Not the man of a household (but totally the head of the household),
Revel
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Heart of Destruction
2014 is here, and wow, is it a cold start to the year! The city of Chicago is now being called ChiBeria, but I'm guessing it could give Siberia a run for its frigid cash.
Today, with the start of a new year, I'd like to give voice to something that's really been on my mind the past several months. If you're looking for a positive and upbeat post, you might want to skip this one and grab some hot chocolate and a stack of Parks and Rec DVDs instead. (I love that show!) However, if you're up for it and can handle an emotionally raw and long post, please read on.
Today, with the start of a new year, I'd like to give voice to something that's really been on my mind the past several months. If you're looking for a positive and upbeat post, you might want to skip this one and grab some hot chocolate and a stack of Parks and Rec DVDs instead. (I love that show!) However, if you're up for it and can handle an emotionally raw and long post, please read on.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
I am hungry, how are you?
I have a male cousin who just graduated college. Bryce is a kind, smart, and overall decent person, and I couldn't be happier that he lives closer by now. He's looking to move into his own place now, and I decided that I'd look for some things he can take with him to the new place. First up was a decent cookbook. As a firm believer in gender equality, I believe that men and women have the equal right to be at home on the range (that is, the oven range). And why not get my cuz on board too? He likes equality just like me!
Going to look for that cookbook, though, was something of a nightmare, especially for a women's studies graduate! Who knew that food was gendered?! All along, I'd thought that eating was something we all did every day, no matter what our gender is. But no, you would have NO IDEA how hard it was to find a gender-neutral cookbook!! All the cookbooks geared at women had some pink and ultra-feminine detail, and they mostly dealt with making family sized meals and accommodating specific diets. Which is helpful, but since I was buying for a single guy, it probably wasn't the target demographic. Then, the cookbooks geared at men were as stereotypical as it gets! All meat and grilling and bacon and, oh right, more meat. And in enormous quantities. So well, sure, I thought, my cousin likes meat, but I do know that's not the only thing he eats. Besides, to put it lightly, let's just say Michael ("The Guys' Guide to Feminism") Kimmel would probably have a field day with how hypermasculinized the content of the books were and I figured that Bryce would find it more silly than useful.
Don't believe me? Well, take some of the titles:
Going to look for that cookbook, though, was something of a nightmare, especially for a women's studies graduate! Who knew that food was gendered?! All along, I'd thought that eating was something we all did every day, no matter what our gender is. But no, you would have NO IDEA how hard it was to find a gender-neutral cookbook!! All the cookbooks geared at women had some pink and ultra-feminine detail, and they mostly dealt with making family sized meals and accommodating specific diets. Which is helpful, but since I was buying for a single guy, it probably wasn't the target demographic. Then, the cookbooks geared at men were as stereotypical as it gets! All meat and grilling and bacon and, oh right, more meat. And in enormous quantities. So well, sure, I thought, my cousin likes meat, but I do know that's not the only thing he eats. Besides, to put it lightly, let's just say Michael ("The Guys' Guide to Feminism") Kimmel would probably have a field day with how hypermasculinized the content of the books were and I figured that Bryce would find it more silly than useful.
Don't believe me? Well, take some of the titles:
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Okey dokey...
This is the ONE Christmas carol you will get from me before December 1!!!
It is dedicated with love to anyone spending the winter in an old apartment with a noisy, heat-giving friend. For added pleasure, sing as your radiator bangs!
Carol of the Radiators
(to be sung to the Carol of the bells)
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is on
It's getting warm
It's getting warm
It's getting warm
It's getting warm
I got a loud radiator that just bangs all night and all day
Oh please come in from the cold
Oh please come in from the cold
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is on
It's getting warm
It's getting warm
It's getting warm
It's getting warm
My radiator has an attitude, never shuts up when I want it to
Oh please come in from the cold
Oh please come in from the cold
It's banging away
All night and day
Hear what I say
It's banging away
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is oooon....
(C) Revel With a Cause Productions
It is dedicated with love to anyone spending the winter in an old apartment with a noisy, heat-giving friend. For added pleasure, sing as your radiator bangs!
Carol of the Radiators
(to be sung to the Carol of the bells)
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is on
It's getting warm
It's getting warm
It's getting warm
It's getting warm
I got a loud radiator that just bangs all night and all day
Oh please come in from the cold
Oh please come in from the cold
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is on
It's getting warm
It's getting warm
It's getting warm
It's getting warm
My radiator has an attitude, never shuts up when I want it to
Oh please come in from the cold
Oh please come in from the cold
It's banging away
All night and day
Hear what I say
It's banging away
BANG heat is on
BANG heat is oooon....
(C) Revel With a Cause Productions
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
What fresh hell is this?
To the retail industry:
What fresh hell is this?
Look, I'm not what you would call a traditional woman in the least. Regarding the holidays, I practice a religion that has no rituals, my family eats pizza on Christmas Eve, and my girls and I make the traditional Thanksgiving foods into breakfast every year. Regarding my personal life, I give books to friends who are expecting (rather than gender-stereotyped baby gear), I tactfully use the bouquet toss at weddings to take a bathroom break (look ma, no lines!), and I am highly suspicious of any tradition that's got a hefty price tag attached to it.
Hmmmm...price tags. That reminds me of my point that I'm trying to make. Look, retail industry, I know it's got to be hard out there for you. You've got profit margins to meet, sales to make, all in a recession. I get it. I do. And I know that the day after Thanksgiving, or "Black Friday," is one day that you can make it all happen so you want to make sure you get people in your doors and out of there with what you've got. I've stood in lines at the book store, and I've seen people camped out super-early to get that flat screen TV or iPod they've got their eyes on that Friday morning. I've seen it, and though the book store is the only place I go that day, I know that it's a big day for you.
However...
What is up with opening the stores ON THANKSGIVING????
I've heard pundits talk about a war on Christmas. Frankly, I think they have it all wrong. There is no war on Christmas! There's a war on Thanksgiving!! And it has GONE TOO FAR NOW!!! Why on earth are you having the stores open on Thanksgiving? Don't your employees deserve time with their families??? Don't your patrons deserve time with their families? Can we please have one day a year that is not centered on buying stuff? And before you bring up overtime pay, let me ask you this--would you spend your Thanksgiving away from your family if it meant you'd get overtime pay like your employees? I'll bet dollars to deep fried turkey most of you wouldn't. Honestly, family (blood or chosen) is just as important to Thanksgiving as the damned turkey. Your employees deserve to have both! And a Thanksgiving without loved ones is, well, like a day without coffee. It is a painful experience and might as well not even be.
Well, I for one am not buying it. I'm pretty certain my family is going to be gathered around the table and not wasting time at shopping malls this Thanksgiving. However, if anyone even so much as mentions that they want to skip out of there and snag some deals, this revel is going to serve them a piece of her mind with the pie. (If you are really concerned about saving money this holiday season, I suggest you buy the generic brand gravy instead of the name brand at Thanksgiving and rent your animated Christmas specials at the public library instead of shelling out the big bucks for the big Comcast package so you can watch them on demand. Boom. Money saved.) Shopping on Thanksgiving my oversized butt.
Seriously, retailers, you really riled up this revel. Please don't do this again next year. If you do this again, I swear I'm going to boycott all of you by making all my gifts and not stepping in your stores. If you hold off one day, I might just consider not finishing my shopping by November 1 like I normally do.
Maybe.
No love,
Revel
What fresh hell is this?
Look, I'm not what you would call a traditional woman in the least. Regarding the holidays, I practice a religion that has no rituals, my family eats pizza on Christmas Eve, and my girls and I make the traditional Thanksgiving foods into breakfast every year. Regarding my personal life, I give books to friends who are expecting (rather than gender-stereotyped baby gear), I tactfully use the bouquet toss at weddings to take a bathroom break (look ma, no lines!), and I am highly suspicious of any tradition that's got a hefty price tag attached to it.
Hmmmm...price tags. That reminds me of my point that I'm trying to make. Look, retail industry, I know it's got to be hard out there for you. You've got profit margins to meet, sales to make, all in a recession. I get it. I do. And I know that the day after Thanksgiving, or "Black Friday," is one day that you can make it all happen so you want to make sure you get people in your doors and out of there with what you've got. I've stood in lines at the book store, and I've seen people camped out super-early to get that flat screen TV or iPod they've got their eyes on that Friday morning. I've seen it, and though the book store is the only place I go that day, I know that it's a big day for you.
However...
What is up with opening the stores ON THANKSGIVING????
I've heard pundits talk about a war on Christmas. Frankly, I think they have it all wrong. There is no war on Christmas! There's a war on Thanksgiving!! And it has GONE TOO FAR NOW!!! Why on earth are you having the stores open on Thanksgiving? Don't your employees deserve time with their families??? Don't your patrons deserve time with their families? Can we please have one day a year that is not centered on buying stuff? And before you bring up overtime pay, let me ask you this--would you spend your Thanksgiving away from your family if it meant you'd get overtime pay like your employees? I'll bet dollars to deep fried turkey most of you wouldn't. Honestly, family (blood or chosen) is just as important to Thanksgiving as the damned turkey. Your employees deserve to have both! And a Thanksgiving without loved ones is, well, like a day without coffee. It is a painful experience and might as well not even be.
Well, I for one am not buying it. I'm pretty certain my family is going to be gathered around the table and not wasting time at shopping malls this Thanksgiving. However, if anyone even so much as mentions that they want to skip out of there and snag some deals, this revel is going to serve them a piece of her mind with the pie. (If you are really concerned about saving money this holiday season, I suggest you buy the generic brand gravy instead of the name brand at Thanksgiving and rent your animated Christmas specials at the public library instead of shelling out the big bucks for the big Comcast package so you can watch them on demand. Boom. Money saved.) Shopping on Thanksgiving my oversized butt.
Seriously, retailers, you really riled up this revel. Please don't do this again next year. If you do this again, I swear I'm going to boycott all of you by making all my gifts and not stepping in your stores. If you hold off one day, I might just consider not finishing my shopping by November 1 like I normally do.
Maybe.
No love,
Revel
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