Implicit bias is a phrase for the idea that we're all probably at least a little bit biased, even if we really don't want to be. It's a term that describes what's happening when, despite our best intentions and without our awareness, stereotypes and assumptions creep into our minds and affect our actions. Implicit bias. The phrase has been used lately regarding race, and especially by those alleging that slight "microagressions" are hurtful to racial minorities. The right has fought … [Read more...]
How to be a CLEFT HEART book booster and reap rewards.
Thought some of you Cleft Heart book fans might get a kick out of seeing a photo (top right of the collage below) of politicians Pelosi and Schumer under an umbrella in D.C, back in the day. Actually, it's my sister Barbara and me in front of the U.S. Capitol after my dad mustered out of the military as a journalist in Washington, D.C. for the Navy's All Hands magazine. My loving sis wrote last year about growing up with a brother with clefts here and here. She wanted to add to the book I'd … [Read more...]
Scariest Horror Villains of all time? Halloween edition.
It's Halloween season, and so why not have some scary villain fun? It's appropriate here, too. My site is dedicated to heroes, villains, and fools... as well as to the more abstract notions of discrimination and preferential treatment in the justice system. Scariest horror villains of all time. Thrillist.com has put together a list of the 33 scariest horror villains of all time. Scott Weinberg at Thrillist has left politicians and Hollywood producers off the list. Wonder … [Read more...]
Lookism & the Resting Bitch Face, II.
This website is dedicated to the face— esp the disfigured, asymmetric, heroic, villainous, or foolish face. This means that the site and my blog take on some pretty interesting topics. In my blog two weeks ago, I raised the issue of the resting bitch face (RBF) and joked about choosing between a witch or a bitch face mask for Halloween. That would've meant putting frown and anger marks on one's face. Or getting a mask of one of the celebrities who claim (or others claim) to "suffer" from … [Read more...]
Cleft lip news: bullying, ‘Wonder’ movie, Cher’s retreat.
This story by Sara Newman came to my attention recently. It provides useful info for families with cleft lip and palate kids. I've added the info about Cher and her facial differences camps."Anti-bullying messages are prevalent in today’s schools, but some kids still may not understand how mocking someone for their differences can have profound effects that last well beyond the school day.“It breaks my heart,” Michelle Aftimos of Pomfret, [Md] said of the bullying her son, Kyle, 8, has received … [Read more...]
Jesus with a cleft lip in Mary-Magdalene biopic?
Joaquin Phoenix Will Likely Play Jesus with a cleft lip.Hollywood is abuzz with the news that Joaquin Phoenix will likely play Jesus, with a cleft lip, in a new movie about Mary Magdalene—an important woman in Jesus' life. It will reportedly be "an authentic and humanistic portrait of one of the most enigmatic and misunderstood spiritual figures in history.” Jesus with a cleft lip will be a first.Other actors to have famously taken on the role of Jesus in past films include Willem Dafoe (The … [Read more...]