Essential Estrogen

It's been a week or two since we put together the Sunday Linkfest. So, without further ado, here's some stuff we noticed that you might want to read:

• Latoya Peterson at Racialicious has a very nice post about video games and their often racist and sexist content. Quite frankly, this has sparked quite a controversy between Paige and I. I'm a gamer -- mostly Sims 2 -- but I also play a wide variety of CRPGs such as the action CRPG Diablo II and the more traditional Balder's Gate. Paige, for reasons I understand, will not even consider playing. Women in RPGs -- even dating back to the original Dungeons & Dragons -- are not only statistically weaker than the male, but are often limited to non-action or side-character roles. When a woman is predominantly featured, she is often... well... let's just say I typically go to the beach in larger pieces of cloth than some of the females characters wear into battle.
• This one is from several days ago, but has prompted so much conversation in our offline groups and circles that it is definitely worth a look here. Jill at Feministe slammed Debra Dickerson for her opinion piece at Salon that was tagged "many blacks love big women, but having a rump the size of Buffie the Body's can put women at risks for disease." For the record, we both completely agree with Jill's assessment of the article. Dickerson, while commenting on a valid problem, total ignores much of what could be causing it. Instead, she resorts to blaming those who have the problem. To which we say: "Deb, take $50 into your local supermarket and buy enough food to feed a family of four for a week. Keep in mind that you are working two jobs and never have more than 30-45 minutes to prepare any meal." The fact of the matter is that junk food -- crap food -- is much less expensive than good, wholesome food. It lasts longer, can be prepared quicker and often can be stored without refrigeration.
  More commentary can be found at The Curavture, Racialicious, Alas, a blog, and Big Fat Deal.
• Looking back at Iowa for a moment, Charlotte Eby at Iowa Insider has a post about restaurants and diners along the Iowa landscape. I'm the person in my family who drives everyone else nuts because I love to stop at new places and eat. I especially am drawn to mom and pop restaurants in little towns. I'll post this over on Charlotte's blog too, but I love the Continental just up the road from the Capitol in Des Moines. Head over and add your thoughts to her thread... I'm going to be keeping an eye on it.
• I guess there was a big race in Newton today. Neither of us are much on racing, but we've found a few posts about it:
  • Deirdre Savoy's Around and around and around she goes
  • Iowa Speedway Debacle
  • Dario Franchitti Wins Iowa Corn Indy 250
  • Ron Fagen Enjoying the Race
  • Dario Franchitti wins the carnage amid the corn, at the inaugural Iowa Corn Indy 250 Indy series race
  • Overheard: Indy drivers' comments about the Iowa Speedway
  • Impact in Iowa
• Did you see that Rob Lowe whacked one of our state birds?