Tuesday News: The WTF Edition
Book agents trying to cash in on Greek tragedy – If you’ve been paying attention to the economic crisis in Greece, you know that economist-turned-Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis resigned after his push against a financial bail-out proved successful in this weekend’s national referendum. Varoufakis has always been a controversial figure, but what may be even more controversial are the actions Zed Books, which used the crisis and the news of Varoufakis’s resignation to bump up interest in his 2011 book. Talk about extreme marketing…
Zed Books sent out promotional material to announce an update to Yanis Varoufakis’ 2011 “The Global Minotaur” and suggested using the hashtag #ministerofawesome.
The company described him as “possibly the coolest, charismatic and most intelligent Finance minister ever.” –New York Post
Reddit Fired the Woman Trying to Save It – After the doxxing of reddit’s Violentacrez, I am not at all surprised that the one woman, Victoria Taylor, who responsible for trying to keep Reddit on the rails, was fired. Because even back then it was obvious that Reddit had a real problem balancing the protection of speech and the protection of actual human beings from harassment, among other unethical things (like doxxing, especially of women), and that the crisis was nowhere near resolution. In this case, though, the fact that the company engaged in this action does not seem to bode well for the future of Reddit, especially since Taylor was largely responsible for the success of AMA (ask me anything), one of Reddit’s most popular aspects, and she was managing a good deal of the invective that seems to flow freely in so many directions on the site.
Reddit execs found themselves at war with their own massive userbase Thursday when over a thousand communities went dark to protest the termination of Victoria Taylor, the website’s primary employee tasked with keeping its community less susceptible to abuse.
The company’s last two announcements called for “removing harassing subreddits” and “taking a step forward [toward] transparency.” Taylor was often seen as the only path for the website’s volunteers to alert the company’s executives of harassment or a lack of transparency. . . .
A former publicist based in Los Angeles, Taylor had been hired out to Reddit HQ in New York two years ago to serve as the online community’s Director of Communications, becoming a rare human—and female—public face for the company. –The Daily Beast
Woman witnesses the worst date ever, live tweets it for your amusement – When a friend sent this link to me the other day, I was afraid to read it, because I tend to dislike the practice of tweeting overheard conversations. Yeah, I get that everything in a public space is public, but it can still feel intrusive. But I suspect that the guy represented in what appears to be a first date ever read this account, he probably wouldn’t even recognize himself. For anyone who’s had a bad date with a narcissist, you will likely relate to Anne Thériault’s account. I kept thinking that this would make a great scene in a Romance novel, especially if the hero overheard the exchange, as well. –Daily Life
The Story Of Menstruation: Walt Disney’s Sex Ed Film from 1946 – Did you know that Disney produced a bunch of educational films in the 40s and 50s, including this one on “the story of menstruation”? There are just so many treasures in this ten-minute film, I cannot begin to describe the experience of watching it. I knew the moment we were told that the pituitary gland was responsible for girls playing with dolls that big trouble lay ahead.
An estimated 105 million students watched the film in sex ed classes across the US. And, according to Tinker Belles and Evil Queens, the film remained a mainstay in schools until the 1960s. It’s now in the public domain. When you’re done, you’ll also want to watch Family Planning, Walt Disney’s 1967 Sex Ed Production, Starring Donald Duck –Open Culture
Some of us are more than old enough to have been exposed to that Disney menstruation film in 5th, 6th & 7th grade hygiene classes. They’d separate the boys from the girls, and to this day I wish I knew what film the boys were seeing.
We also were gifted with started kits of Modess napkins and belts. If you’ve never known the joy of fastening a sanitary napkin to a belt, you should fall on your knees and thank heaven you live in the 21st c.
Just watched the Disney films. I think they’d be less painful to watch if they weren’t such a mixture of facepalm and actually useful information. And why was that baby wearing lipstick and eyeliner?
You entice me with tiny pic of kitteh then when I click into post the pic is gone 8 (
@Darlene Marshall: I got “a” film – I don’t think it was the Disney one – in 4th grade. Girls in one room and boys in another. And thank heavens the sanitary napkins didn’t last much longer after that but yes, I remember them and shudder.
When I was in 5th grade, the girls were treated to the best menstruation video ever. It’s all about a girl who gets her period while at a sleepover. The next morning, her friend’s mom explains what’s happening to her body and uses a diagram which is a pancake in the shape of a uterus. I kid you not.
@Darlene Marshall:
My flashbacks/memories/sleepless nights will be nicknamed “Darlene” now. Who knew I was so good at repression.
I had totally forgotten about them (the films) and those (the product).
That bad date recap reminds me of the opening scene in Julie James’ It Happened One Wedding. Always funny unless it’s your date.
@Cheryl: I was just thinking “Hey, didn’t Julie James do that in a book?”
Yep- the Disney film gave me my start off laugh of the day. I didn’t get that particular film in the 4th grade but whatever variation I saw confused me for many a year. And yes, I second falling down on our knees and being grateful that pads and belts went away!
I just read the “Worst First Date” tweets. Hilarious! I don’t know why people accuse romance writers of telling stories that don’t reflect real life. We couldn’t make up something this perfect.
If it mentioned the word “menstruation” it was doing a lot better than the films I saw in Health class in the 70s — the were all B&W films featuring boys and girls in 1950s outfits (suggesting the date of the films) holding hands and roller skating. The voice overs said things like “now you are coming to an age where you might have uncomfortable things happen —- you might smell a bit more. If you do, bathe more often.”
My sex ed was the year title 9 came out and the school thought that meant co-ed sex ed and the gym teacher assigned couldn’t cope with mentioning anything related to sex or menstruation in front of girls. Maybe he sat up late at night watching all the school’s health videos until he found a few that wouldn’t make him (a pale-skinned redhead) blush beet red (something he did often).
@TheoLibrarian: I thought I was the only one who remembers the uterus pancake video. To this day I won’t eat pancakes that are any shape but circular.
@Darlene Marshall:
Oh, the singular joy of napkins on a belt. And the even more special experience of turning the napkin wrong side out somehow.
We have come a long way, baby.
@TheoLibrarian and @Melinda: You guys are cracking me up.