itazzx

[itazzx]

This is incredibly cool!

Journal paper here.

[itazzx]

Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon April 2016

Hi Friends! If you’re looking for my updates on Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon, head over to my brand spankin’ new blog called The Purple Sponge: 

https://purplesponge.wordpress.com/deweys-readathon/

[itazzx]

Wentworth on Facebook: Today I found myself the subject of an Internet meme. Not for the first time.

This one, however, stands out from the rest.

In 2010, semi-retired from acting, I was keeping a low-profile for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, I was suicidal.

This is a subject I’ve since written about, spoken about, shared about.

But at the time I suffered in silence. As so many do. The extent of my struggle known to very, very few.

Ashamed and in pain, I considered myself damaged goods. And the voices in my head urged me down the path to self-destruction. Not for the first time.

I’ve struggled with depression since childhood. It’s a battle that’s cost me time, opportunities, relationships, and a thousand sleepless nights.

In 2010, at the lowest point in my adult life, I was looking everywhere for relief/comfort/distraction. And I turned to food. It could have been anything. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex. But eating became the one thing I could look forward to. Count on to get me through. There were stretches when the highlight of my week was a favorite meal and a new episode of TOP CHEF. Sometimes that was enough. Had to be.

And I put on weight. Big f–king deal.

One day, out for a hike in Los Angeles with a friend, we crossed paths with a film crew shooting a reality show. Unbeknownst to me, paparazzi were circling. They took my picture, and the photos were published alongside images of me from another time in my career. “Hunk To Chunk.” “Fit To Flab.” Etc.

My mother has one of those “friends” who’s always the first to bring you bad news. They clipped one of these articles from a popular national magazine and mailed it to her. She called me, concerned.

In 2010, fighting for my mental health, it was the last thing I needed.

Long story short, I survived.

So do those pictures.

I’m glad.

Now, when I see that image of me in my red t-shirt, a rare smile on my face, I am reminded of my struggle. My endurance and my perseverance in the face of all kinds of demons. Some within. Some without.

Like a dandelion up through the pavement, I persist.

Anyway. Still. Despite.

The first time I saw this meme pop up in my social media feed, I have to admit, it hurt to breathe. But as with everything in life, I get to assign meaning. And the meaning I assign to this/my image is Strength. Healing. Forgiveness.

Of myself and others.

If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. Reach out. Text. Send an email. Pick up the phone. Someone cares. They’re waiting to hear from you. Much love. - W.M. #koalas #inneractivist #prisonbroken

www.afsp.org www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org www.activeminds.org www.thetrevorproject.org www.iasp.info

www.facebook.com/notes/wentworth-miller/flour-or-wheat/1653559881523614

[itazzx]

Socially Awkward Bachelors, a novel by Jane Austen

[itazzx]

Escape Route.

Tapastic. Twitter. 

[itazzx]

this is my favorite news segment of all time

[itazzx]

Fox

”She knew what she was and so was capable of anything anyone could imagine. She loved what she was, there for the taking, imagine.

She imagined nothing. She loved nothing more than what she had, which was enough for her, which was more than any man could handle.”

- Rita Dove

[itazzx]

[itazzx]

[itazzx]

someone: where do you see yourself in 10 years?

me: 

[itazzx]

OKAY LADIES, NOW LET’S GET INFORMATION

So you’ve heard (and seen) Beyonce’s new single, “Formation.” And then saw it again. And one more time. And then watched her Super Bowl performance. Well, once you’re done freaking out because Queen Bey is back, get inspired to investigate the long and glorious history of black feminism and activism backing Bey up. Feel free to keep listening your Beyonce playlist while you read.

1. At the Dark End of the Street by Danielle L. Maguire

This history investigates the often neglected role of black women in the civil rights movement, focusing on the beginnings of the civil rights movement in the resistance and activism of black women against ritualized rape of black women by white men. In part through highlighting the work of NAACP lawyer Rosa Parks, Maguire restores the radicalism and activism of black women to the forefront.

2. Women, Race, and Class by Angela Y. Davis

An influential theorist and long powerful voice, this 1983 book explores the history of the women’s movement in the United States and the role of classism and racism in hampering its goals. As feminism continues to grapple with intersectionality and white bias, this book is as relevant as ever. (Angela Davis also just released a new book, Freedom is a Constant Struggle, which illuminates the connections between struggles against state violence and oppression across the world.)

3. Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

This collection of Audre Lorde’s writings explores race, gender, and sexuality in a range of essays. Lorde’s skill with language - she was also a poet - shines through, and every one of her essays is a call to “never close our eyes to the terror, to the chaos which is Black which is creative which is female which is dark which is rejected which is messy which is…”

4. Ida: A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching by Paula Giddings

Ida B. Wells, born in the late 19th century, was one of the earliest black feminist leaders in the Civil Rights Movement. An outspoken abolitionist and investigative journalist, she documented lynchings as a systematic campaign of intimidation and was active in the push for women’s suffrage. This biography focuses on her campaign to bring a halt to lynchings in the South, crafting a portrait of a visionary reformer decades ahead of her time.

5. From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

This new release focuses on the mass protests that arose after the police murders of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, and the #BlackLivesMatter movement that arose from them. Taylor explores the history behind the apparently sudden outcry, focusing on mass incarceration and structural and economic inequality that disproportionately affects black people. A vital new book of history still in the making.

6. Beyond the Pale: White Women, Racism, and History by Vron Ware

With hashtags like #solidarityisforwhitewomen, the shortcomings of white feminism have come into focus. Ware’s history demonstrates that it is not a new phenomenon: many women’s movements in the United States have been marred by racism and the exclusion of black women from their ranks.

7. Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman by Michele Wallace

Michele Wallace’s 1978 release caused a storm of controversy for its attack on the masculine bias of black politics. She described how women remained marginalized by the patriarchal culture of Black Power, demonstrating how black women remained oppressed by stereotypical ideas of motherhood.

8. Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America by Melissa Harris-Perry

Melissa Harris-Perry, who also has a “Black Feminist syllabus” online, dissects the common stereotypes that limit black women, such as the Mammy, the Jezebel, the Sapphire. She explores their origins and dissects the damage they cause and how they change and distort the lives of the women they impact.

9. Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty by Dorothy Roberts

This highly topical book highlights the impact of the legislation, social policy, and welfare “reform” of the 90s on black women’s - especially poor black women’s - control over their bodies’ autonomy, exploring topics such a coerced birth control or sterilization and the stigma against black mothers on welfare. She demonstrates the long legal history of how and when American law permits the state to interfere with black women’s bodies.

10. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Okay, it’s an old one, but if you haven’t read the transcript of Adichie’s TED Talk, famously sampled in Beyonce’s “***Flawless”, now’s the time to do it. It’s a short read that inspires and uplifts, with its simple message that nonetheless voices facts that are too seldom spoken. (And if you like her style, don’t forget to check out Adichie’s fiction!)

[itazzx]

Say to them, say to the down-keepers, the sun-slappers, the self-soilers, the harmony-hushers, “Even if you are not ready for day it cannot always be night.” You will be right. For that is the hard home-run. Live not for battles won. Live not for the-end-of-the-song. Live in the along.

Gwendolyn Brooks, “Speech to the Young: Speech to the Progress-Toward” (via misswallflower)

[itazzx]

this encounter seems very intimate and magical, like a moment in a dream

[itazzx]

Toni Morrison, Beloved

[itazzx]

baby bunnies sleeping in glasses

[itazzx]

10+ Funny “Harry Potter” Comics Reveal How Irresponsible Dumbledore Was

[itazzx]

Specimen 01846, 01985, 02187, 02215, and 02227.

© Math Monahan