Best Posts of 2005

It's a little late, but here is my roundup of my most worthwhile posts of last year. This may seem a little vain, but I have an ulterior motive here: I read that it is more reader-friendly to link to past posts because it gives new readers a taste of what your blog is about. So here is my self-conscious effort to be an appealing blogger:

1. "The Many Contradictions of Glamour Magazine" (January 22, 2005)

Glamour is on the one hand a magazine that encourages female independence from men, healthy eating and exercising rather than dieting, and unique, non-trendy fashion; while on the other hand it prints articles that inherently provoke self-consciousness about relationships (can you imagine Maxim being as focused on how men can please women as Glamour is on how women can please men), preoccupation with one's weight through exercise and eating articles, and, yes, trends.

2. "Triplets of Belleville as a Metaphor for Franco-American Relations?" (March 27, 2005)

...the uninvited development in the French countryside where main character Madame Souza and her biker son live, the enormous skyscrapers of Belleville and the gargantuan stomachs of its citizens as metaphors of the excesses of America, and the symbolism of French bikers being held in captivity and forced to "entertain" American business and mob men. Is this film a critique of an uninvited American influence on France?

3. "Atypical Music Tastes" (May 1, 2005)

Though I confess to being one who tends to be the last to know about new "Indie" groups, and I'm certainly not the Indie expert (I tend to like Indie bands once they become popular, if then) I think in an effort to search for the latest and greatest music, people my age miss out on a great American tradition of good music from the 1960s-70s.

4. "Why the New York Times is just as bad as others, A Supreme Court article" (June 27, 2005)

Vaunting a man who signed on to one of the most problematic majority opinions, Bush v. Gore, as impartial and above the political fray is pretty irresponsible.

6. "If Roe v. Wade is overturned, everyone should worry, not just pro-choice supporters" (July 20, 2005)

Lately it has become almost in vogue to disparage Roe v. Wade as a legal opinion. Its main holding though, the "right to privacy" is sound, and if Roe is overturned on those grounds (which I think it would have to be), then all of us, and not just those of us concerned with women's reproductive rights, should fear.

7. "The Big 'D-Word'" (September 9, 2005)

D-E-B-T, debt is a huge problem for many Americans, and members of my generation are being catapulted into it in a way that may entrap us for many years to come.

8.Civic Engagement: Do Republican 'hard times' and our best effort make Democratic victories anymore obtainable?" (November 21, 2005)

According to scholars Paul Pierson and Jacob Hacker, Democrats have an uphill battle to become the national majority party, even when, as now, there is broad discontent towards the Republican party on the part of the general populace.

9. "Riots in France" (November 7, 2005)

In most parts of the city of Paris however, according to a New York Times correspondent, there is no sign that looting and arson are occurring. This disconnect illustrates the general disconnect between the city of Paris and many of its suburbs.

10. "Special Interview with Bill Bloom" (December 14, 2005)

Q. Is it interesting to you that the use of izzle has just taken off?
Right, that completely blows my mind that 25-years later, it's kind of become mainstream pop because everybody's using it.