Five Star Friday's 163rd Edition Is Brought to You By Theodore Roosevelt

This week's Five Star Friday is brought to you by friendship, a near drowning, extreme sexism on the internet, cultural messages about masculinity, more perverse levels of internet bullying, some Canadian-flavoured fandom, more about sexism, a mother's wrath, a really big hill, -isms, reading and safety and arrogance, death threats, and Theodore Roosevelt:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

     — Theodore Roosevelt

Happy Friday!

"Warm Brown Rice and Grilled Vegetable Salad" from Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef:

...there is also the shadow story, the one I never tell on this site.

I guess it's just part of being in the public eye. This is what people tell me. I think it has more to do with the fact that we seem to have fallen into a position of derision and judgment in this culture. Everything is to be doubted. Someone has to be wrong.

"Raise Your Hand" from The State of Discontent

"Sorry, Raccoons, Let's Talk About Race and Gender" from Surrender, Dorothy

"Death Threats and Hate Crimes, Attacks On Women Bloggers Escalating" from IttyBiz:

This is about innocent women bloggers getting attacked for trying to make a go of it online. This is about all the people who are petrified when they get hate mail and don't know who to ask for help. This is about smaller bloggers, and newbies, and women just finding their voice.

They don't have what I have. They don't have YOU. And they need you today.

"Love Makes Your Soul Crawl Out From Its Hiding Place" from Jennafarelyn

"The Wonder of Fred Penner" from Buggering Crap Monkies

"Sexism Is Complicated. Now Excuse Me While I Put On Some Alanis and Feed My Cats." from Mom-101:

Sexism is pervasive. It creeps into our daughter's lives in stealthy ways, before they're able to identify it and refute it. Before they're able to understand irony. Before they're able to separate out the messages we tell them at home from the ones they see on t-shirts or posters on the subway.

"Manning Up" from Daddy In a Strange Land

"Drowning" from Karen Nicole Costa

"A Pathetic Recognition of Mortality at the Most Beautiful Place in America" from Sweet Juniper!:

When I finally reached them, I slumped down next to where they rested and could have slept for centuries: a Once-Great Muckwah cowed by his own foolishness, his underwear full of sand.

"I Don't Have Any Stories With Unified Metaphors So This Is Just A Few Things I've Been Thinking About" from Black Hockey Jesus

And, yes, one of mine, because it was nominated several times:
"The Girl Who Couldn't Leave" from Schmutzie.com

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Comments

[Mom101]

Thank you so much Schmutzie! I have my reading cut out for me.