We're seeking new members for our 2025 Board of Directors, as well as our founding Associate Board for young professionals 35 and under. Details and application at each of the links above.
We're seeking new members for our 2025 Board of Directors, as well as our founding Associate Board for young professionals 35 and under. Details and application at each of the links above.
Requests? 773-DJ-SONGS or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
One of the most fun parts of parenting is becoming proficient in all the stuff each of my kids thinks is cool. Winchie is very clear about his likes and dislikes. He likes trains, trucks, cars, baseballs, basketballs, and soccer balls. He also likes to dig holes in the back yard. That’s pretty much it. He loves to jump and run around, but will sit and read a book, too, provided the subject matter is something from his list of likes. Oh, and he also likes to build huge Lego towers only so he can stomp on them or crash one of his many wheeled toys into them. He loves his sister and his parents and we love him back. That’s all he needs to know. Give him a Thomas toy, toast with peanut butter on it and a lap to sit on when he wants it, and he’s the happiest camper in the universe.
I’m totally comfortable letting him engage in typically-boy activities like playing sports and crashing toy trucks into things because these activities bring him obvious joy and satisfaction. And I’m always more than happy to indulge him when he wants to engage in typically-girl things like playing with dolls or putting on lipstick. He’s open-minded and willing to try anything that looks like fun to him. He’s curious, but uncomplicated. What a great kid!
When it comes to my daughter, though, things are a little different. Of course, she is also a fantastic kid in my humble opinion, but she’s much more complex than her brother—or maybe it‘s just my relationship with her that‘s more complex. I’ll admit that I have the usual parental dreams of her turning out to be a little version of me (minus my insecurities and hang-ups, of course). So while I’m more than happy to let Winchie play with his trains and dig up the garden, I find it much harder to hold my tongue when Squeaky wants to do something that falls under the umbrella of “girl stuff.”
For instance, as those who know me well can attest, my everyday uniform consists of black, black, and more black, silver jewelry, chunky shoes (black, of course) and, now that I’m a mom, an industrial-sized canvas tote bag for all of the essentials like stuffed animals, blankies, and extra diapers. I wear so much black, in fact, that my husband will occasionally refer to me as Morticia and is visibly shocked when I wear anything in another color. I don’t do it because I miss the heyday of Wax Trax! or harbor secret vampire fantasies. Rather, I do it because I’m the laziest person on earth. Black matches everything and I don’t have to spend ten years searching my closet for something to wear. Oh, yeah, and I look good in black—all of us dark haired, dark eyed, olive skinned girls do.
Then there’s my daughter. She LOVES frilly, puffy, sparkly pink clothing. If it’s not entirely pink or has pink on it somewhere, she won’t wear it. Because she’s only 2.5 years old, she doesn’t yet know that tiaras exist, but if she did, she’d want to wear one around the house at all times and expect her subjects to genuflect accordingly. Her best friend is a stuffed pink bunny named Pink, when she grows up, she wants to be “a mommy,” and she loves playing with the kitchen set at preschool.
I’ll be honest. All of this makes me want to gag. And, so help me, the day she asks for a Baby Alive doll or Easy Bake oven, I will need to strength of 1,000 Hoover Dams to hold back the verbal condemnation of such hyper-gendered products. Yet, on the same token, I have no problem buying entire train sets and various sport-related toys for my son.
It’s like I’m living in one of those Frosted Mini Wheats commercials. The feminist adult in me wants to destroy all Easy Bake ovens, princess-themed toys, and anything that comes in both a blue version (for boys) and a pink version (for girls). If it appears in that Pepto Bismol colored aisle in the toy store, I’d like to take a blowtorch to it. I know toys are supposed to be all about escapist fantasies, but Bratz dolls? Really? I’d much prefer my daughter pretend to be a construction worker or a doctor or a rabbit than an empty-headed, materialistic, boy-crazy prostitot.
On the other hand, the kid in me knows Squeaky hasn’t read feminist theory and likes frilly, sparkly girlie stuff simply because she likes it. I didn’t teach her to like pink. She has always liked it. I didn’t teach her to like baby dolls. She just does. When my grandmother bought me a baby doll when I was three, I took one look at it and told her to give it to my cousin Jimmy. I wanted a Dukes of Hazzard guitar! When my mom bought Squeaky a baby doll, her face it up, she hugged it tightly, and asked for another one so her baby wouldn’t be lonely. She likes dolls and inwardly, I seethe. Her brother likes trucks, and I’m all for it.
So what’s a mom to do? In private, I throw up my hands and wonder aloud what planet my daughter came from. In public, I talk to my friends who also have kids and ask if they are as bothered by this gendered-toy dichotomy as I am. As one of them (a very intelligent and doting father of an adorable girl) recently pointed out, the problem isn’t with the products themselves, it’s with telling girls that they don’t have a choice and that cooking and childrearing are their only options in life. They can play with that stuff as long as they know it’s not a death sentence. As adults, they will have other options.
Of course, he’s right. These kinds of toys are only one avenue of many available for girls to explore. This may just be a passing phase for my daughter en route to another set of likes and dislikes My hope is that when Squeaky grows up, she will have even more avenues to choose from than those available to me or my mom. Fortunately, society seems to be moving in that direction, it just isn’t reflected in the toy aisle—yet.
And no, it hasn’t escaped me that I am a homemaker, so I shouldn’t be shocked when Squeaky asks for kitchen-related toys because she sees me cooking something everyday. My days consist of adult versions of the Easy Bake oven and child-sized dolls. But I don’t revel in it the way my daughter does and perhaps that’s the source of my ire. I did, however, choose this life (for now), and I know that it is temporary. Once the kids go to school full time, I plan on devoting more time to the business that I am just now starting up. (It would be off and running if I only had more time…) So I am definitely one of the beneficiaries of societal changes wrought by First- and Second-Wave feminists. I made a choice to stay home and I still have the option to work when I want to, how I want to.
But all that doesn’t stop my blood from boiling at Target when I see the face of a smiling little boy on a Doctor toy set (in a red and white box) on the shelf above the face of a smiling little girl on a Baby Care toy set (in a pink box). Yes, I can tell my daughter she has choices, but how can she believe it when faced with an option like this in the toy aisle? As a kid, I decided to reject all things pink and frilly when selecting my preferred toys and maybe that will be Squeaky’s decision as well. A mom can dream. Until then, I’m off to write a flame latter to Fisher Price, creator and distributor of the previously-mentioned toys on the Target shelf. I mean, really. How difficult would it be to use a picture of two kids—a boy and a girl—to sell both products?
What’s the iPod/MP3 Shuffle? It’s just a way to get people to share music and foster some discussion. I started doing this on my Facebook page a while back and it’s been great seeing friends exchange comments on each others lists. Every Friday, I get out my 120 GB iPod (which has about 24,000 songs now), hit shuffle and write about the first 10 songs that come up. Sometimes the 10 songs are kind of conventional, sometimes there’s a lot of obscure stuff. So check mine out and please add your own shuffle or discuss other people’s shuffles!
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Hey everyone! Let’s a wish a happy birthday to the late Jonathan Harris, the actor who portrayed the diabolical, and downright creepy, Dr. Smith on the cheesy ’60s sci-fi “classic” Lost In Space. In his honor, go grab your iPod/iTunes/MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first ten tunes that come up.
We are so pleased to report that the Local Community Radio Act is moving along quickly in the House of Representatives, and may be voted on next week! The bill has never been this far, and we feel confident that we will prevail in passing it out of the House. However, we need your help to make sure that this happens. This FRIDAY November 6, 2009, we are asking all friends and supporters of CHIRP to participate in CHIRP House of Representatives Call In Day.
The Chicago Independent Radio Project (CHIRP) asks you to tell your Representative to VOTE YES on The Local Community Radio Act of 2009 (HR 1147). There are currently over 800 LPFM stations operated by schools, churches, civic groups, and other nonprofit organizations across the country – but, because of limitations imposed by Congress in 2000, there are still many more groups like CHIRP who are waiting for LPFM service to be expanded so we can have a chance to apply for a station too. The Local Community Radio Act of 2009 (HR 1147 / S 592) would expand Low Power FM radio, potentially opening the airwaves to tens of thousands of new community radio stations across the country.
Please help CHIRP have a chance to apply for a low power FM signal by asking your Representative to VOTE YES when the Local Community Radio Act comes to the floor – maybe as soon as next week! It takes just a few minutes to make one phone call following the instructions below, and you’ll be helping ensure that this bill passes in the House of Representatives next week!
Action Steps for CHIRP House of Representatives Call In Day
For your convenience, we have provided a list of Illinois-area representatives, their phone numbers, and where they stand on the Act.
Already Co-Sponsors
Hi, my name is (NAME) and I’m calling from Chicago, Illinois. I’m calling Representative (NAME) today to thank her/him for her/his support of the Local Community Radio Act, HR 1147. This bill is important to me because I am a supporter of the Chicago Independent Radio Project, a group working to bring a low power FM community radio station to Chicago. This Local Community Radio Act will expand low power FM radio service to hundreds of community organizations, churches and other groups like CHIRP across the country. I thank the Representative for taking leadership on this issue, and hope that she/he will continue to do everything possible to help this Act pass in 2009. The Act is going to come to the floor of the House for a vote next week, and I would like to ask that the Representative do everything that he/she can to help it pass. Can I count on the Representative for her/his support? Thank you.
District 2 Rep. Jackson, Jesse – (202) 225-0773
District 4 Rep. Gutierrez, Luis – (202) 225-8203
District 17 Rep. Hare, Phil – (202) 225-5905
District 14 Rep. Foster, Bill (202) 225-2976
District 15 Rep. Johnson, Timothy – 202-225-2371
District 9 Rep. Schakowsky, Janice – (202) 225-2111
Not Current Co-Sponsors
Hi, my name is (NAME) and I’m calling from Chicago, Illinois. I’m calling Representative (NAME) today to ask her/him for her/his support of the Local Community Radio Act, HR 1147. This bill is important to me because I am a supporter of the Chicago Independent Radio Project, a group working to bring a low power FM community radio station to Chicago. This Local Community Radio Act will expand low power FM radio service to hundreds of community organizations, churches and other groups like CHIRP across the country. I am asking Representative (NAME) to join with his/her colleagues in signing on as a co-sponsor of the Act, and voting YES next week when the Act comes to the floor of the House for a vote. Can I count on the Representative for her/his support and vote of YES? Thank you.
District 1 Rep. Rush, Bobby – 202-225-4372
District 3 Rep. Lipinski, Daniel – (202) 225-5701
District 5 Rep. Quigley, Mike – 202.225.4061 (CHIRP’s office is in his district)
District 6 Rep. Roskam, Peter – (202) 225-4561]
District 7 Rep. Davis, Danny 202/225-5006
District 8 Rep. Bean, Melissa 202-225-3711
District 10 Rep. Kirk, Mark 202-225-4835
District 11 Rep. Halvorson, Deborah (202) 225-3635
District 12 Rep. Costello, Jerry (202) 225-5661
District 13 Rep. Biggert, Judy 202-225-3515
District 16 Rep. Manzullo, Donald (202) 225-5676
District 18 Rep. Schock, Aaron 202.225.6201
District 19 Rep. Shimkus, John (202) 225-5271
If you’re from outside Illinois, you can find your elected officials and their contact information at congress.org.
Thank you so much for your help!
What’s the iPod/MP3 Shuffle? It’s just a way to get people to share music and foster some discussion. I started doing this on my Facebook page a while back and it’s been great seeing friends exchange comments on each others lists. Every Friday, I get out my 120 GB iPod (which has about 24,000 songs now), hit shuffle and write about the first 10 songs that come up. Sometimes the 10 songs are kind of conventional, sometimes there’s a lot of obscure stuff. So check mine out and please add your own shuffle or discuss other people’s shuffles!
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It was 71 years ago that Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre scared the living you-know-what out of everyone with a radio production of H.G. Wells’ War Of The Worlds that fooled some people into thinking that Martians really were invading Earth. In honor of this Grade A chicanery, grab your iPod/iTunes/MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 tunes that come up with everyone.
That CHIRP would be participating in a Tweetup on Thursday, November 12th from 6:30 -10:30 p.m. at Tweet (5020 N. Sheridan Rd.). What’s all this? CHIRPing, Tweeting? It’s all a bunch of noise to you?
To those of you who are confused or are unsure why this matters, let’s take it from the top. CHIRP is going to participate in a Tweetup. It’s a meetup of people who mostly who know each other from twitter . Twitter + meetup = Tweetup. But if you aren’t on Twitter, it’s a way to learn more about CHIRP and meet people who are interested in independent media — Windy Citizen.com is also co-sponsoring.
I use Twitter for a variety of reasons (yes, I’ve been known to lament that there’s been Christmas items at Walgreens since September!), but one of the reasons it’s so helpful and fascinating to me is its presence as a de facto news reporting source. There have been countless times I have seen reports of a news item somewhere and gone directly to Twitter for the follow-up; getting the rest of the links, websites and good ol’ populous commentary that the web is so famous for.
I’ve also found a great community of people there. Done some networking, but mostly found a group of people who are interested in the same things I am: arts, culture, music, working for change, being active citizens. Twitter is truly what you make of it — it can be a fountain of mundane information or it can be a resource for valuable content.
C’mon out to the Tweetup. Learn more about CHIRP and Windy Citizen. Have a drink and a pancake with us. Be a part of the community of people interested in independent media and take that interest to action. It’ll be a great way to meet new people. At least, that’s what a little birdie told me.