Gail Helen Bremner http://gailbremner.com/blog from here to absurdity Sun, 13 Apr 2008 06:01:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 en Happy Birthday to Me! http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/12/19/happy-birthday-to-me/ http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/12/19/happy-birthday-to-me/#comments Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:32:36 +0000 gail helen Relationships Education Personal Politics Feminism Omnia Vanitas Current Events Money Give Random http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/12/24/happy-birthday-to-me/ For my birthday, my boyfriend sent me the most wonderful gift I received this year. Instead of sending me the usual bouquet of flowers (a staple of the long distance relationship dance we’ve been doing for the last decade or so), Ed made a donation in my name through Changing the Present to educate Afghani girls. Not only did this thoughtful gift show an understanding of three of the causes most important to me — education, feminism, and the promotion of human rights on the global scale — it really made me feel loved. I wish I could have made the actual email card I received display properly, but during this busy season I simply don’t have the time to futz with the code. To find out more about how you can honor a loved one with a charitable gift, click the link above, or if you’re interested in the cause of educating Afghani girls, click the banner below. Trust me, it’s a gift that will keep on giving!

ChangingThePresent

Problem

Under the Taliban, education was prohibited for girls. Now, the hard-won right of simply attending school in Afghanistan for girls is becoming more and more difficult. Experts estimate that every day in Afghanistan a girls’ school is destroyed or a teacher is murdered. Attacks have closed schools in several entire districts in Afghanistan — nearly one-third of all districts have no schools.

The Gift

We cannot allow the destruction of women and girls’ education to continue, with education so crucial to long-term empowerment. The Feminist Majority Foundation is working to keep Afghan girls’ schools open, as well as to reopen those schools that have been closed. We must do all we can to ensure that the rights of Afghan women and girls do not slip away again.

Your donation of $60 will pay the salary of a teacher in Afghanistan for one month. Without teachers, who are being targeted by extremists in Afghanistan, the right for girls to go to school is meaningless.

]]> http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/12/19/happy-birthday-to-me/feed/ I Heard a Rumor . . . http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/08/27/i-heard-a-rumor/ http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/08/27/i-heard-a-rumor/#comments Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:27:54 +0000 gail helen Education Personal Literary Omnia Vanitas Sponsored Posts Random Television http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/08/28/i-heard-a-rumor/ While I won’t have cable this semester, it looks like I will have access to my favorite channel, the CW (it used to be the WB). They’re responsible for my two favorite shows of all-time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars, although both of those series have sadly ended, leaving a void of grief in my weekly TV schedule that no other show has been able to fill . . .

Apparently, though, the CW may be premiering a contender this fall. I’ve heard a lot about the Gossip Girl series of young adult books by Cecily Von Ziegesar, and now they’ve been transformed into a new teen drama of the same name. As a wannateach, I’m fascinated by books that portray the “real” issues that teens face — sex, drugs, peer pressure, and the host of other demons that keep parents awake at night — while avoiding the preachy-ness of the kinds of texts that are traditionally used to show kids the consequences of certain actions.

Anthropological interest aside, I’m hoping the show will have the sort of pull I felt towards Buffy and Veronica Mars. The characters are socialite-teens from New York’s fancy Upper East Side who attend private schools full of vicious rivalries that an anonymous (and seemingly omniscient) narrator called “GossipGirl” blogs about on her website. I’m thinking of my guilty pleasure, Cruel Intentions, and hoping the show crosses that setting/atmosphere with a smart, sassy heroine that doesn’t rely on sex appeal for power. Judging from the pictures on the Gossip Girl web site, they’re really banking on the attractiveness of their actors to get the initial viewers, a tactic which should be effective — they’re definitely look the part of “the beautiful people” they’re supposed to be playing. I’ve include one below, simply because I love the expression — it’s so 3:10. Of course, I was hooked when I heard that Kristen Bell, who played the eponymous star of Veronica Mars, will be voicing the part of Gossip Girl — I could listen to her witting her way through the instructions for setting a VCR, she’s that good. But I also have hope for the “outsider” characters that lack the social and financial assets of their peers — I’m thinking Brenda and Brandon without the annoying “we’re so Midwestern, ain’t it cute?” thing. Now I just have to wait until the premier on Wednesday, September 19th to see if this show can be crowned my new favorite . . . And apparently, I’m not alone, as shown by this lovely tribute to Gossip Girl on MySpace.

Blake Lively as Serena Van Der Woodsen

]]> http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/08/27/i-heard-a-rumor/feed/ Television Black Out :( http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/08/26/television-black-out/ http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/08/26/television-black-out/#comments Sun, 26 Aug 2007 20:47:49 +0000 gail helen Omnia Vanitas Technology Random Television http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/08/26/television-black-out/ Well, I’m back in the dorm, and of course all is not as expected.  I thought I’d have free basic TV, but alas, the coaxial jack appears to be cable-only, and does not lead to a rooftop antennae as hoped.  For all I know, that’s not even a possibility, but it never hurts to fantasize, until you find out that the minimum cable package costs $50 a month, which is a little beyond my purse at the moment.  Luckily, I think I can wire something up to improve my in-room reception, and I’m looking into some computer-based solutions that might allow me to harness the power of my room’s high speed connection (limited as it may be) . . . Lord knows, I’m grateful for the DVR I have installed at my mum’s house, so at least I can have a catching up smörgåsbord of tube time when I head back south . . .

]]> http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/08/26/television-black-out/feed/ Travel Insurance http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/05/travel-insurance/ http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/05/travel-insurance/#comments Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:05:35 +0000 gail helen Personal Omnia Vanitas Current Events Travel Sponsored Posts Money Random http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/05/travel-insurance/ Although my trip this week was canceled and I was able to recoup my expenditures on tickets and lodging arrangements, it reminded me that Travel Insurance is always a good idea. Especially now that I’m all flu-icky and wouldn’t get on a plane for $200 (although I’d probably do it for $300, depending on the eventual destination). I recently discovered TravelSafe, a family-owned and operated business that has been working hard to protect the traveler since 1971, through a recent press release. Apparently, TravelSafe offers an industry-first — a “Cancel For Any Reason” option — plus coverage for hurricane warnings and other inclement weather, worldwide medical protection and emergency medical evacuation, coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, trip cancellation/interruption, even the ever-present threat of terrorism. Before this weekend’s attack in Glasgow, on the very airport I’ve flown into dozens of times, I never considered visiting my family to be a risky prospect, even though I was in the air on 9/11. Travel seems to be an increasingly complicated undertaking — from fear to “mechanical difficulties” to acts of god — and so I think I will definitely be engaging the services of a travel insurance provider the next time I venture far from home.

]]> http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/05/travel-insurance/feed/ Speaking of a Bronte . . . http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/05/speaking-of-a-bronte/ http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/05/speaking-of-a-bronte/#comments Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:46:36 +0000 gail helen Education Personal Literary Omnia Vanitas Random http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/05/speaking-of-a-bronte/ Although I’ve done very little official study of the sisters Bronte, I do have a list of critical resources for them.  Probably my favorite is this one for Emily Bronte & Wuthering Heights.  Lots of good insights and a variety of critical approaches on what is probably my favorite ‘gothic’ novel.  I would love to teach this sometime, but I’m not sure if they still do it in high school.  I think there was one English class that covered it when I was student, and I took it off my boyfriend at the time and read it through in the course of a school day.  It’s one of those books that can change your soul if you pick it up at the right moment . . .

]]> http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/05/speaking-of-a-bronte/feed/ Flu-Bar http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/05/flu-bar/ http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/05/flu-bar/#comments Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:31:32 +0000 gail helen Personal Literary Omnia Vanitas Random http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/05/flu-bar/ Ugh.  I’ve been feeling iffy for days, and I’m supposed to drive to Milwaukee for class today, so I went to bed last night at a reasonable hour for me — 3 AMish — only to wake up at 7:30 with a gnawing feeling
in my guts and a lovely clammy sweat clinging to my skin.  Yep, I’m pretty sure it’s the flu.  I wish I knew who to thank — besides myself for living an oh-so-healthy and regimented life — but instead I’m just going to whimper quietly on my blog.  I made the mistake of looking in the mirror when I got up to rinse the tangy taste of death out of mouth, and I can’t help but wonder why I can’t look like some Bronte heroine when I’m ill.  Instead of a lovely pallor with two spots of painted high color, I look like a corpse with a case of hives.  Woe is me . . . and so it’s shortly off to bed again.

]]> http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/05/flu-bar/feed/ Lawyer Up http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/04/lawyer-up/ http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/04/lawyer-up/#comments Thu, 05 Jul 2007 03:53:12 +0000 gail helen Work Personal Omnia Vanitas Sponsored Posts Money Random http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/04/lawyer-up/ I’ve written about Simmons Jannace & Stagg in the past.  From everything I’ve read, they’re a great law firm for both large and small firms.  But in a recent press release, I learned that in addition to litigation, Simmons Jannace & Stagg also handles financing transactions such as structuring a variety of loans (including real estate, construction, and asset-based loans), asset securitizations, stock purchase sale and leaseback transactions. But what really caught my eye was that their firm provides guidance in choosing a business form, such as organizing corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, and other legal entities throughout the U.S.  I’ve never really examined whether my business is set up in a way that’s most advantageous to me — as a sole proprietor who doesn’t lay claim to the content she creates, I’ve never had to worry about the legalities of working with companies.  As long as I’m registered and pay my taxes, I figured that was good enough.  But their are a host of advantages to doing things th right way (versus the quick and easy way I chose), so it may be time to re-investigate the structure of my business.  Simmons Jannace & Stagg doesn’t have offices in Chicago, though, so I guess it’s the yellow pages for me . . . ;)

]]> http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/04/lawyer-up/feed/ Bad Poetry http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/04/bad-poetry/ http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/04/bad-poetry/#comments Thu, 05 Jul 2007 03:16:38 +0000 gail helen Education Personal Literary Omnia Vanitas Meta-Fors Poetry Random http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/04/bad-poetry/ In my Young Adult Literature class, we’ve been talking about the particularly kind of poetry that adolescents write. My last post reminded me of a poem I wrote about headaches years ago, and I thought I’d share it with you for a laugh. The formatting was better, and I’m couldn’t remember all the words . . . Wish I could crack open my old WordPerfect files, but alas, you’ll just have to make do. :)

Pain

On nights like these I swallow
flakes of bleached bone snow.
A familiar knot of cold forms
until the moon is not
so big
and the stars are not
so bright
and I can see the strings
anyway . . .

]]> http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/04/bad-poetry/feed/ Headache http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/04/headache/ http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/04/headache/#comments Thu, 05 Jul 2007 03:01:43 +0000 gail helen Personal Omnia Vanitas http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/04/headache/ For the last three days, I’ve had this incredible stress headache that simply won’t dissolve, no matter how many oblivion-inducing pain killers I consume. It has always been my unfortunate fate to receive limited comfort from traditional medications of this sort — Tylenol doesn’t even touch me. When I was about 12, my mother finally realized I wasn’t kidding when I said the “take two and call me in the morning” approach didn’t help. Since then, codeine has been my best friend, but my own awareness of its potential problems keeps me from relying on it too heavily. It’s times like this that I wish desperately for a pool, some place I could just relax and let everything flow away from me for awhile . . . La sigh. How do normal people manage to let everything go? Can I get that in a pill? :)

]]> http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/07/04/headache/feed/ Options Trading http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/06/29/options-trading/ http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/06/29/options-trading/#comments Sat, 30 Jun 2007 03:20:45 +0000 gail helen Education Personal Omnia Vanitas Current Events Sponsored Posts Money Random http://gailbremner.com/blog/2007/06/29/options-trading/ One of the best things about reading press releases is that it exposes you to topics you might otherwise have never investigated.  For example, I just discovered that options trading refers to contracts which give the trader the option to buy or sell a fixed amount of a certain stock at a specific price within a specific time frame.  I will have to invest more time into studying this type of trading, as I have very little knowledge of the topic.  For example, I don’t really understand how historical option data could be useful to an investor.  Power Options offers a complete suite of educational materials, providing the essential data you need to invest with stock options.  In my opinion, I think this is a great resource for both novice and expert options traders.  As I begin to research the market and decide how best to invest my savings, I will be looking at their site in depth, because knowledge is power.  I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why they’re called “Power Options.” :)

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