Eartha Kitt

has passed.

::sigh:: too much awesomeness has left

A new face on my radar

I love Susie Bright.

I have just discovered her.  She showed up in two posts at two websites I follow in the same day.  The first: her essay Egg Sex was linked to in the comments of a story Feministing discussed.  The second: She was a guest blogger on BoingBoing.  That there clinched the deal.  Not only was she able to write such awesome, open essays of gender liberation and exploration that were tempered with experience, but in my mind which constantly weighs independent critical thinking with validation through peer review, here she hit on the big one... right into the left field I tend to hang out in.

Since then, I have added her to my RSS feeder and have been pouring through her blog.  She comments on movies, technology, sex, eroticism, and rights.  It is.... ::shiver:: orgasmic.  It's revolutionary, strengthening, funny, and provacative.  Read it!

Claire's Party

Before I start:

1) HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!

2)Orion just found the cap to my mouse.  That is... she knocked over my mouse and the cap came off.  Neci likes feathers, Orion likes psuedo-cylindrical clear things.  Therefor, Orion is currently pouncing all over my bed room.  It's adorable.

Now, onto Claire's party.

Claire's party was awesome! There were so many people there that half the party had to eat dinner at the bar!!  I go there before Claire and her mom and husband and his family showed up.  Remember, as this flavors the rest of the night: Claire's brother-in-law is Aaron.  You know, the one I had the not-quite-stable-or-amicable break up with.  The one who broke up with me then proceded to continually show up at my house and freak me out.  The one who sent me all sorts of weird emails saying that we needed to get together to talk some things out.  You know, that one.

Well, apparently he wasn't told I would be there.  So when he showed up at the restaurant, I got the EVAL GLARE OF DETH!  Fortunately he showed up with his family, so his sister and her boyfriend sat next to me, and then his father,  he on the other side of all of them.  That way we didn't need to talk or see each other.  His sister and i talked about college and boyfriends and anime and all sorts of things.  Aaron came up a few times as she had heard bits of stories and needed clarification.  There was a dude named Scott sitting across the table from us, another person from Cookeville, who we talked with alot.  Everyone asked me why I didn't bring my boyfriend (he came up after "OOH! I LOVE YOUR HAIR!" "Thanks! It was a Xmas gift from my boyfriend!"  I had to respond that I didn't want to start any issues as Aaron and I had a not-good breakup and it's Claire's birthday and we're having fun! goddammit!!

So then we go bowling.  i'm on a lane with Claire, Nathen, Scott, and someone else whose name starts with C.  We're sandwitched between the other lanes, so Aaron and I are sometimes up at the same time.  No big deal, no eye contact, no issue.  Suddenly Scott gets up, he had been sitting next to me and we discussed all sorts of dorky things (like WoW).  And then Aaron comes over...
"Elizabeth?"  I'm surprised that he's talking to me somewhat, but I don't want to seem unfriendly and be the catalyst for a scene.
"Hey! Yeah?"
"I think that sometime we need to talk."
"About what?"  If he has something he wants to talk about, an actual topic, I can be reasonable and nice.  However if he just wants to attempt to draw out the past and defend his actions then I don't want to even give him my time.
"The past."
"I don't think there's anything to talk about. It's over."
"I still think we need to sit down and talk."
"no. We're here for Claire's birthday. We should be having fun."
"I'm not saying right now. And I'm having a blast.  But we need to talk."
"Just go, please."

At that point, the easygoing, noworry feeling I managed to have that eveing , the feeling that we were just going to realize that things didn't work out, and to not antagonize each other was gone.  He's still having issues.

Does this mean he's going to start back with the whole creepy email thing?  Will he again show up at my house unannounced and unwanted?

Why can't he get over this. 

I'm done with it.


I don't think the human mind can comprehend the past and the future.  They are both just illusions that can manipulate you in to thinking there's some kind of change.
-Bob Dylan

Claire's Birthday

I had book-club last night, and Claire gave me the plans for her birthday.  Four days ago, I was at Borders and saw a book that I had to remember to mention for her, but now that I'm going to the bday I wanted to get it.  It was sooo PERFECT!  I go back today and it's sold out.  And at B&N and everywhere!!!  Argh!

It's ok... I have a backup plan.

Inspired by Myspace SexxyPix

I see so many attempts as "sexy" myspace pictures that seem to serve no purpose other than to debase the page owner by proving that they need to seek acceptance by others, not themselves.  And I finally exclaimed my annoyance at them to Morgan.

"Don't they realize that in trying to be sexy, it's just becoming grotesque? It's not sexy.  It's fake.  Sexy is what you are, not what you try to be."

And then I pulled out one of my favorite poems.  I think about it often, as like the author I'm not fashion model.  But I'm me and there is so much about me that I love and even that others find attractive.  I mean, how many women have a boy come up to her in a bar and say "I'm not trying to be creepy, but you're absolutely beautiful."?  So internally and externally... I must be doing something right.

So I'm reprinting Maya Angelou's Phenomenal Woman.

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
 

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
the swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
 

Men themselves have wondered
what they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
 

Now you understand
just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
the need for my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

this week...

So, Blogojavich shakes down childrens hospitals.  Bush gets shoes thrown at him. 

My brother's car is in an accident.  Morgan's transmission explodes.

My kittens are cuddly.  And I was harassed at WalMart.

"Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today" - Mahatma Ghandi

The cats go to the vet on Monday

Neci and Orion are set to go to the vet's on Monday for their yearly shots.  Apparently Orion's were due in November, which makes sense now that I think of it.  Neci's were done last December because I adopted her later.  This is all in preparation for Orion's spaying on January 14.  No more will my kitten go into heat.  Her last heat, however, has been a while ago. Maybe she's gotten used to the odd feeling of fertility.

So before I bring the cats in, I want to make sure they look their best: claws trimmed, coats shiney, all cuddly.  So I started with the coats.  Next time, I need to remember to trim their claws *before* I give them their bath.  Orion was ok like normal, but Neci has gotten to hate baths more and more.  Just getting into the bathroom was a difficult experiance.  I think I need to do hers before Orion. 

I wish I knew where my camera was (again) because then I could include pictures of them in their shrunken state.


--
-Eliz"D2 92 F9 F2 A2 A5 1D E8 96 51 F9 14 16 46 C9 26"abeth

The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now. - Thich Nhat Hanh

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass. - Dogen

I've Joined the Herd

So, I have another nerd confession to make.

another? what's left for you to do?

I... I...

come on, tell us...

I now play World of Warcraft.

You what?

Come on now, it's not that bad.  I have a level 24 human palidan, a level 20 dwarf hunter, and a level 12 orc shamen.  And the Pali and Hunter are in a guild with some people I know in real life.  And the characters are really awesome...

::hangs head::

This is my hunter Gexxe with her Snow Leopard pet Sidartha and her pet tree frog.  Because... we just do.  She has on her claws.  They're a weopon she can use because of her dual wield ability and.... I'll stop right there.


The score never interested me, only the game. - Mae West

You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play it better than anybody else. - Albert Einstein

On holidays

Holiday season has started.  We had the big meal where we carbo-loaded for the marathon of shopping, cooking, wrapping, and generally celebrating.

 

The "specialness" of the days, however, tend to grate on me.  Perhaps I didn't realize it until last year when I was seeing someone who "doesn't do presents," but I doubt that singular experiance was enough.  Combine the current economic downturn with a parent who puts so much pressure on gifting, between the time spent picking the gift and the amount spent on the gift and the quality of the wrapping (materials *and* skill) and you have a long-time-coming-gift-giving-rebellion.

 

And yet I'm still giving gifts this year.

 

But the one aspect that has become more pronounced is that Christmas is a day of obligatory gift giving.  Obligitory - when the gift is supposed to show how much you care about a person, that you think them special enough to get a gift on that day.

 

I give gifts randomly, I try to have something for people on their birthday, a token showing that I remembered the birthday and I know they like _blank_ (flowers normally, or wine, once i got a friend a gorgeous necklace).

 

I think my frustration is more obvious, pronounced, and defendable with the concept of Valentines day.  Morgan, it seems, is used to big fancy holidays.  For Christmas (and maybe this is my birthday combined too), he is taking me to get my hair done.  This is something I find truely desireable, as I have planned to get it done and it is so nice to not have to pay for it myself.  This weekend he brought up Valentines day.  He got to listen to a brief rant where I was annoyed at the concept of ignoring the state of a relationship the other 364 days of the year and only taking one day to "celebrate" it.

 

If I am in a relationship, I wish to feel recognized and important everyday.  Heck, I couldn't imagine a healthy relationship consisting of one member feeling unimportant most of the time.

 

And this is why holidays frustrate me.  Originally serving as an amplifier for a specific mood, they have metamorphisized into the only day we need to exhibit the appreciation.

 

 

 

 

Generosity is giving more than you can. Pride is taking less than you need" - Kahlil Gibran

 

If we have the opportunity to be generous with our hearts, orselves, we have no idea of the depth and breadth of love's reach. - Margaret Cho

 

 

 

 

 

Things That Make Me Happy

1. Candy-striped sunsets and the moment watching them.
2. The intense blue of a winter sky.
3. Kittens who cuddle even when I've been annoyed at them.
4. Hot showers.
5. So many friends who offered me their place before I "fixed" my hot water heater.
6. A boyfriend who lives close enough that we can see each other without planning it a days ahead of time.
7. A boyfriend who lives close enough that if I want to do something but he's tired, I can go out without feeling like a poor host.
8. Neighbors who come over to shoot the breeze and drink the wine.
9. Neighbors who are adventurous enough to help discover which bottles of wine went bad because of my poor wine rack location (final count: all 17).
10. Finishing a book.
11. Sunday morning snuggle sessions.


The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now. - Thich Nhat Hanh

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass. - Dogen

Let there be electricity through a metal coil that causes just enough resistance to radiate heat!

This is the second Kitten Story of the day, the first being of India's daring trip to the kitten emergancy room. He is recovering from a slightly embarrassing issue, but will be home and feeling better soon. Yay!

Last Saturday, an electrician came to my house to give me some estimates, 1) fixing what was broken 2) going from a fuse box to a circuit breaker. Before he showed up, I replaced all my fuses to everything that was broken, even though they looked like they were fine. None of the heaters worked, still. The hot water heater, however, did. So I did laundry and I took showers. I took a shower on Friday, and didn't use any hot water since. Then I took a shower today (monday) and I got just barely lukewarm water. I'm worried.

On Saturday my electrician came at 9AM to install my baseboard heaters. It seemed like an easy enough task, but the last time I did any electric work in my house (replacing the Kitchen Light Fixture and replacing the dimmer switch in the office with a simple on/off switch) I ended up with my laundry room light not working. So he came to replace 4 old, broken 8' baseboard heaters with 4 new, efficient 4' baseboard heaters and replace the bathroom light (Dave and I almost killed ourselves (possibly)) replacing it this summer), and figure out what was wrong with the laundry room light.

I was to provide my own materials, and I had 4 heaters and 4 thermostats. Except they weren't the thermostats that went with the heaters. Stupid Home Depot. So the electrician went and got the stuff. I then realized I never bought the new fixtures, so I ran to Home Depot (returning the crap stuff in the process). Just after this run, however, he went out to look at my fusebox, or his truck, or something, and I followed him to look at the snow. When I went back inside, I must not have closed the door all the way, because after I went over to tell Morgan about the snow (he was reading in my bedroom) I went back to the living room and saw the door open... and Orion was outside. So I grab her and realize I hadn't seen Neci in a while. I ask Morgan to look for her inside while I go outside to see if she's wandering.

Neither of us can find her, and the electrician tells me that I bought the wrong type of light fixture (I needed a pull chain), so I go back to Home Depot to buy the correct fixture (closest place to mine, even thought they screw up), delegating the entire cat hunt to Morgan. While driving I call my neighbor, knowing that if I don't the next day we'll have a conversation that consists of "Yesterday I saw a cat that looks just like Neci!" I'm starting to freak out, feeling like a horrible, irresponsible pet owner. When I adopted Neci I needed to fill out pages of references claiming that I had never lost a pet to neglect and could give the proper supervision and that she would ALWAYS be inside!

Then I start thinking about how Orion will feel. She has barely known any time alone since I adopted Neci. How will she handle it. And it's not like I can just substitute it with another cat, we'll both know it's not right, and I failed Orion. I'm ready to cry and am getting pissed off at my inability to care for another being when Morgan calls and says that he found Neci passed out under my bed.

The BITCH!

So now everything is ok.... except for my sudden lack of hot water. We'll work on that. The hot water heater was warm...

::sigh::

Media Dump

 

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Yay!!!






WANT!






Translation:
In 1994 Toby "arrived" at the McKenzie farm.
Incredibly, Sheila, an old duck, "adopted" him.
They had a beautiful relationship.
Some time later, Sheila died of old age...
So the McKenzies had her stuffed by a taxidermist.
This video shows Toby seeing Sheila again for the first time.

New Year Resolutions, sorta

I don't really *do* New Year Resolutions. It really makes no sense to me to suddenly decide that you need to change something and actually expect to break all your old, bad habits in one day that culminates the end of the stressful holiday season. Heck, the day after New Years is the national day of recuperation!

But, I do realize that I need to change a few things, and the next month will have plenty of new starts: new semester, new reign administration, new heating system.

So - I am going to propose a few changes to my current way of life. This is not seperate from the 101 in 1001 plan. In fact, it is most likely going to augment it. But I realize that I both need and want a few changes.

I've decided to break it into two parts: things I will continue through the year and things I want to get done over winter break.

So within the next month, I will set up the infrastructure for a year of:

1. Keeping my house as neat/clean as I did from April 2007 - Sept 2007.
2. Consuming consciously. This entails purchasing from local vendors and responsible companies. This includes food, toiletries, alcohol, cleaning supplies, and gifts.
3. Successfully gardening at least two food objects (ie: tomatoes and eggplants) and 3 spices/herbs.
4. Keep my bills organized.
5. Run http://gexxcooksknoxville.wordpress.com/ .

Over break I will:

1. Enroll in auto-pay for my mortgage
2. Figure out what is going on with my ATT bill
3. Clean my desk
4. Install my kitchen cabinet doors
5. Clean out my kitchen supplies
6. Install my coathooks
7. Play with my kittens
8. And generally simplify my possessions
9. Create my mother's website
10. Figure out my financial aid situation for the following year
11. Mount the headlight on my bicycle
12. Organize the basement for easy bicycle access
13. Get Orion and Neci their yearly shots
14. Spay Orion
15. Cuddle the kittens
16. and at the end.... update my 101 in 1001 blog!

Plan plan plan.... Now to just DO!

Twilight... perhaps with a spoiler

So for the month of December, my bookclub is reading Twilight by Stephanie Meyers.  Yes, the teenaged vampire novel.  We picked this because it would probably be a quick read and because one of the members of the club, K, didn't like the book.  She (and multiple other reviewers) couldn't stand Bella (female protaganist and voice)'s lack of strength.

I've got a weird issue with the book, though.

So after reading it:

Bella doesn't display an extreme lack of strength.  She's a 17 year old girl who just moved from Arizona to Oregon.  She's dealing with new-school stuff and ends up being attracted to a vampire.  She acts like a typical 17 yo not-yet-woman: she has some angst, she's not always sure of herself and will defer to others, she makes mistakes, and she's sometimes preoccupied.  All in all, while she's not someone I would list as a Feminist Role Model, she's not a pathetic excuse of a teen drama queen. 

One thing I found interesting was that there were few chronological markers in the book.  No mention of movies, songs, fashion, or technology.  It's generally timeless.  Maybe there was a time-revealer when discussing her car in the beginning, but I doubt it.

My issue is with Edward, the VampireLurvInterest:
Edward was born in 1901 and vampire-ized in 1918, making him a perpetual 17.  However, in the setting of the book (late 1990s, early 2000s), he's somewhere between 90 and 100.  And he's gitten all-up-ons a 17 year old human girl.

"That's what I like about High School Girls: I keep getting older but they stay the same."

This book is an old man's (wet) dream.

Whine whine whine - i wish i had a landlord

It all starts with yesterday I'm feeling very blah.  Sick blah.  Probably came down with the second grade or the kindergarten funk.  No worries, I'll go home and get all snuggly and get better.  So I go home, pick up some and set up a space heater in my bedroom as now only one of my wall heaters works, and it's in the entirely opposite corner.

I warm up the room and go to take a shower, after 10 minutes there is no hot water.  There's not even something other than freezing cold ice water.  So no shower, it must be because I didn't insulate my pipes, well, that will be a plan for Saturday.

Saturday I wake up with a sinus headache, sniffles, runny nose, sneezing, and no voice.  I make my way to Morgan's for a shower, as i smelled funny, and we went to Lowes and Home Depot looking for baseboard heaters.  Apparently they can install anything except for these baseboard heaters, which are relatively simple and I would do myself if I trusted myself to not kill me.

So back to my house to get the ingrediants for some bortscht and to check on the kittens and the low-running space heater.  We forget the ingrediants.

After a while I investigate electricians more and see that Home Depot DOES have electricians to install all their stuff.  I call them expecting to be told "just not where you live." But the woman who answers the phone is very helpful and tells me that someone will get back to me in the next few days.

now to figure out the hot water heater.

Something stupid - parts 1 and 2

Part 1

see Sarah Palin pictures

Part 2
My mother calls. I have no voice, so I ignore the call and text her back. She responds by text.
me: Can't talk, I have no voice. I'm sick.
mom: Don't you have another phone?
me: It doesn't matter, I can't talk. I don't have a voice.
mom: so why don't you talk on your other phone.
me: because I have no voice.
mom: why is that phone broken too?
me: the phones are fine, I just don't have a voice. I can't talk. I'm sick.
mom: so it's not the phone.
me: no. I'm sick, I have no voice.
mom: oh. hope your fever gets better.

Yearly Xmas List (aka - consumer whore checklist)

In no particular order, here is what I'm hoping Santa brings... and the stipulation is nothing from WalMart or Target

• money (car payment, mortgage payment, regular moneys, association memberships, pay someone to fix my heaters)
• magnetic poetry set (original, haiku, green, romance novel)
• a nice 8-10 inch chef's knife and sharpening stone
• funky fingerless gloves
• awesome legwarmers
• brightly colored opaque tights that fit someone as tall as me
• a skirt to wear the tights with
• CSA subscription to Greenman Farms ($500)
  
• my heaters to magically work (or new, efficient heaters)
  
• a visit from the Spay/Neuter Fairy for Orion
• microplane grater
• extrusion pasta maker
• Jamie Oliver's cookbooks
• Confident Pussy Tshirt, in pink
• Papasan Chair
• Container / Organic Gardening books
  

See - I'm relatively not materialistic.

Shapely?

So, Morgan owns a bathroom scale.  No big deal, I have an idea of the 15 lb range I've tended to fit lately, rarely at the edge though.  So I stepped on the scale on Tuesday (the first time in weeks) and weighed X, which is on the low end of my range. Yay! This is great for going into the holiday season.  Today I step back on and weigh x+6.  How'd that happen?

snow!

SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!

Transgender Day of Rememberance

 

Events - including in Second Life 

List of Transgender murder victims

List of articles about Transgender murder victims.

The Sore Feet Song - Ally Kerr

I walked ten thousand miles, ten thousand miles to see you,
And every gasp of breath i grabbed at just to find you,
I climbed up every hills to get, to you,
I wondered ancient lands to hold, just you.

And every single step of the way, of pain,
Every single night and day,
I searched for you.
Through sandstorms and hazy dawns i reached for you.

Yeah, it's the opening to Mushi-shi, an anime.

101st post sillyness - My brother's tattoos

If we can't tell, this is a series of 6 stars down an arm and torso.

So we won't discuss how apparently stars are becoming the new tribal, butterflies, and lower back tattoos of the 'aughts. They're not original like some my associations have: yellow California poppy, Magritte's pipe, fossil of an extinct arthropod, the Archeopteryx, and a flaming skull with psychadelic eyes (ok, that was admitted as a bad decision). But the stars are my little brother's decision. That doesn't mean we won't still poke fun at him. Dave and I were discussing the tats and here are our ideas:

• parallel lines down the other side for "stars and bars"
• color them red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple with sharpey when he comes to visit in January (which coincides with a marriage equality rally)
• draw a different unicorn/my little pony in each like a showcase
• I L O V E U, and along the same lines I S T I N K (you see it when he exposes his underarm), and M I S S M E
• "mess" "my" "hair" "i" "love" "it" (he hates it ;) )

suggestions for my childishness?

Frazz - Nov 14 2008

Hypothetically Speaking or PaleoObama

(note: I actually wrote this and published it yesterday, but it... disappeared. Somewhere, in the bowels of blogger.)

So, in anthro when discussing preshistoric hunter/gatherer populations there's a social set up where the population lives at a year round "base camp" while individuals wander off to gather resources from pre-determined areas that surround the base camp.  Previous thought was that the women would stay behind to do the child rearing and whatever processing was required at the base camp, creating an extremely gendered view of work distribution.

Then along comes Dr. Kristen Hawkes from Utah (who, coincidentally, I met a few years ago and who was the Master's advisor for my old boss) who while studying paleodemography realizes that more and more women in these early prehistoric time periods are living later and later into their post-menopausal age.  She determines (using much statistics and evidence and such) that there is a reason for this.  Older women can care for weened children, freeing adult females to also procure resources.  This eventually becomes a behavior which selects for genetic longevity.  If your grandmother lives longer, then not only is there a chance you'll live longer bc of genetics, but you'll also have the resources to facilitate living to a reproductive age because your gmother lived longer and then you'll pass on those genes. 

Taking it a step further, it has been tied into why females typically have longer lifespans.  See, males were just along for the ride.  Their behavior didn't promote their lengthened age but that their grandmothers kept them alive past childhood, because the highest rates of death are 1)<5years and 2)old allowed them to utilize and pass on their grandmother's longevity genes.

Where am I going with this?

Grandmothering Hypothesis now has a modern correlate! (sample size, n=1)

Michelle Obama's mother is moving into the White House, the home base, to help take care of her grandchildren!  This will allow Michelle and Barack to do anything that needs to be done.  I think that's awesome, while their mother and father are off saving the economy and representing the past "Country No. 1" of the free world the girls will have someone to help them with school work, who will help them get settled in, who will take them to go visit things in DC.  That, First Family, is putting family first in a truely timeless way.  Kudos to you!

And that's my geek out for the day.

Ok, I'm a nerd.

Marriage Equality Rally!

[newsbreak] Good news! Larry Summer is no longer up for Treasury Sec.  If you didn't know, he's the ex-ivyleague-pres who said women were inheantly inferior at math and science.  He even set up a home ec class for women so they didn't need to worry their little heads with all sorts of numbers. [end newsbreak]

So, Saturday was the Anti-passing of all the no gay marriage acts/props/ammendments.  Morgan and I made up posters (seen below), and he met me at the museum at 2.30PM with the plan to head right over to World's Fair Park.

Well... I head over to the museum, where I had 1PM a program to give, at 12.15.  I pull into the lot and am told that I need to pay, there's a basketball game.  I explain to the attendant that I am going to work at the museum and, not only that, I have 20 young girl scouts with parents coming at 1.  They tell me that they will need to find parking.  I respond that this is not acceptable, they were told where they could park before this, and the museum lot is to remain open for museum visitors.  Well, apparently there are only 5 spots left, and goodness knows how we'll do this.  So they call the head guy, who is very not pleased to see me.  The museum and the parking people have been at odds for as long as I've worked there.  The museum needs weekend visitors. When the museum advertises free admission and free parking, people expect that.  If they need to suddenly pay $5 to go do something free, they'll just as soon go home.  The museum loses visitors, and no one buys anything cool in the museum shop.

So he and I argue that parking a few cars in the free lot with everyone else having to pay is not acceptable.  I threaten to call people, like the museum's director, in order to give my girls a good experience.  At this point one of the original attendents comes running up and tells us that most of the cars in the lot are high school students here for visitation, and their program is supposed to be over at 12.30.  How about we just close the lot down for everyone except Girl Scouts (and other visitors, I pipe in).  That, I tell them, will work, assuming enough people leave.  What if we don't have enough spots still?  The attendants point out a bunch of open space, normally used by the daily attendant's kiosk, and say they'll park them in there.  We should be guarenteed 15 spaces between what's already open, what will open, and the informal spots.  So they change the sign to "Lot Full" and I head in hoping that the girl scouts are carpooling, like good environmentally concious individuals should.

I have 15 minutes to run upstairs, downstairs, middlestairs in order to get my 45 minute program, my 15 minute tool demonstrations, my 20 minute clay-based craft, and my 5 minute story set up.  I'm not ready on time, but that's ok, because the "Lot Full" sign confused some parents looking for the museum so they're on their way.  We get started about 15-20 minutes late.  Gargh!

We do the program, take a little longer on the initial program because they ask so many gosh durned questions, do the tools, take a quick break for me to move around the set up for the craft, make our darned clay pots, Morgan shows up, wash our hands, tell the story, and I clean up in record time.  I tell the guard the few things he needs to do (re-set some alarms, re-lock a few doors) since I don't have codes or keys.

3.20PM Morgan and I rush out of campus and over to Worlds Fair Park.  Everyone is gone!

Noooo!

So now I have two virgin signs for the next protest rally.

I'm annoyed.  Stupid parking.

Come to find out, about 120 people were at the rally, and the only counter protest was

LINK TO ARTICLE ABOUT RALLY IN KTOWN!  I really like this article.  Especially that it is written with a lean toward supporting same sex marriage and even includes religious leaders' comments supporting the equality of the right.

In other marriage-equality news:  December 5 is "No Gay for A Day" day, where the LGBT community and their supporters stay home from work.  Where I work, at the museum, we all feel that marriage should count.  The people I serve, children, would be the ones effected.  While children may repeat what parents say, they are still impressionable.  I'm conflicted whether my staying home would help.

Worlds Fair Park 1:15 Today!

Here are our signs. I'll be there once I'm done with a group at the museum.

Out and About

Saturday is a National Day of Rallying for Equality in Marriage Rights. (click on the graphic for more info).

Either way, the current plan is that in Knoxville people will be meeting at 1PM at World's Fair Park.

Bring your posters, rage, and support.

Official letter from Knoxville coordinator

Friends and allies,

WHY WE NEED YOU: As you know, our November 4th election was a day of mixed emotion. Along with Barack Obama's victory came a stunning defeat for LGBT rights: the passage of Proposition 8, which overturned the California Supreme Court's June 17, 2008 decision to allow same-sex marriage. Legal ramifications for the millions of loving same-sex couples who have been married in CA since the summer are still up in the air, but Prop 8's discriminatory message is clear: gay and lesbian couples are somehow less deserving of the chance for a happy, loving marriage.

While Prop 8 dealt a devastating blow, we can be encouraged by how quickly Americans have rallied in protest of this decision. California cities have already been bombarded with LBGT individuals and their allies, backed by an unprecedented outpouring of support from around the country.

This Saturday, November 15, there will be a nationwide protest in cities across all 50 states and DC. At 1:30 EST (10:30 PST), thousands of Americans will come together in solidarity of our LGBT brothers and sisters. We are saying together, loud and clear, that we will not stand down until EVERYONE has equal marriage rights, feels safe to be who they are, and is embraced as a first-class citizen.

http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/

KNOXVILLE: Knoxville's rally will be held on the lawn of World's Fair Park. We will gather around 1:15 so that we can count down to the 1:30 nationwide protest together. There will be several speakers, including Reverend Bob Galloway of the Metropolitan Community Church. Next, there will be an open session for anyone in the crowd to speak and share their thoughts. (This has been cleared with Lieutenant Hubs and the Park staff. We have permission to be there. Additional security will come through periodically to make sure we are not bothered.) There are a number of parking lots and garages around the Park.

http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Knoxville

Afterwards, anyone who is interested can go over to Kingston Pike outside the mall to engage in more of a picket-style protest.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Most of all, come to the rally. As of Tuesday night, there was nothing scheduled in Knoxville, and I put this together pretty quickly. Show up and show your support. To stand up for what you believe in with thousands of your fellow citizens across the country is an incredible opportunity.

If you have cameras and/or video recording devices, it would be great to bring them and take plenty of pictures and recordings. The organizers of Join the Impact will be anxious to hear how things went in the different cities.

If you can, make signs for yourself and others. If you need inspiration, check out the link above for ideas.

Additionally, we are still in great need of a megaphone (or microphone with speakers) that does not need to be plugged in; if you have one or know anyone who does and would not mind donating it for a few hours, please let me know!

PLEASE BE AWARE: I've discussed all this with Lieutenant Hubs and we don't anticipate any problems, but in case we attract negative attention, please remain calm and civil. No matter how angry someone makes you or how despicable they may act, you always win by staying classy. Be courteous to other people in the Park, pick up any trash from your signs, etc. There is a Veteran Memorial dedication in the Park in the morning. It is over at noon, but please be respectful of any patrons still mingling from that event.

How we conduct ourselves will speak volumes.

MOST OF ALL: Yes, across the nation we are protesting a discriminatory decision, but this is not just about politics. Most importantly, this is about love, a human need and a human right. Although we are disappointed by California's decision, Saturday's events should be a positive experience as we celebrate the unity and solidarity of our allies around the country.

I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday.

For love,
Jen Crawford

(484) 354-3867

jencra@gmail.com

Angry feminism!

I'm reading this post at Feministing Community about a PMS buddy site.  I'm in Morgan's living room, so he's there too.
"Can you believe this! There's a site where guys can enter the dates that they notice their girlfriend's periods and then get email warnings when their girlfriends should be PMSing so that they can act extra nice on those days."
"Do you want me to sign up for that site?" Morgan asks all eagerly.
"Morgan, you're asking if I want you to sign up for a site that flat out assumes that you're with a woman so ignorant of her own body that she can't tell you if she's feeling poorly from a monthly even.  That assumes that all women turn into crazy woman-zillas for a week because of uncontroled PMS rage.  That assumes all women are on a 28 day cycle! " 

I'm glaring with anger of the idea of the site.  Unfortunatly I'm glaring at Morgan.

His winter coat is on the arm of the chair.  He grabs it and hides under it
"Tell me Morgan!"
"I can't hear your feminist rhetoric! Not under my fort!  I'm hiding! You're scary!"

He comes out.  "Are you signing up for the site?"
In a whimper "No!"

Stigma

A list of things that need to be de-stigmatized.

• mental health disorders
• weight issues (either way)
• pregnancy
• abortion
• consentual recreational sexual encounters
• childfree
• sexual commodification (ie - prostitution)
• feminism
• the vagina
• foster care and social work
• religion whether it's belief or not
• self sufficiency
• requiring assistance
• economic difficulties
• pro-life/pro-choice combinations
• seemingly contradictory religious/political combinations
• success
• failure
• being in love
• love

Theresa's Wedding -Drama Mama's, Dancing Grannies, and Problems with the Pastor's Ex.... AND PICTURES

My LITTLE brother.


My mother.


The other weekend I went to PA to see my bestest best best BEST friend from high school get herself married. I had met David, the groom/husband before. It was so long ago that JUSTIN met the groom/husband. He asked "are you still with that guy i met when Theresa got her wisdom teeth out?" I'm like "no" and Theresa says to me "No, you're with that guy that you went to Texas with." and i'm like "no" and they're like "how many boys have you been through!?" and I answer, "I'm on my third." I only counted "real" relationships, if you know what I mean.

So on to the wedding.

I drive up on Thursday, after the TN drama quiets down (she's back from the hospital and feeling better, btw), leaving Knoxville at about 8AM, stopping somewhere in VA for a BLT and fries at 2 PM and then pulling into Bumblefuck, PA at 6PM. I unload my stuff, including some produce for my mother and make dinner with the TN eggplants, sweet potatoes, and her asparagus. Yummy!

Friday morning I call the bride because I know I'm supposed to be, at some time some where for a rehersal. I also ask if she needs help. So I spend the next while in a freezing old theater with a stamped tin roof stringing up miles of Christmas tree lights and lit up grapes, setting tables, and laying out alchohal. Each table got one bottle of Arbor Mist and one bottle of Maneschevitz (grape flavored wine? what?).

We rush off to the wedding rehersal, where the rev/priest/pastor informs us that while we must be at the church at 12:30, she can't get there till 1 because her exhusband doesn't have their 2 year old this weekend, so she'll drop the kid off at her parents and then come over.

After the rehearsal, dinner at the Prime Rib buffet of Country Cupboard, where we stuffed ourselves full of the best mac and cheese ever concocted on this green/brown/blue earth. Then, after the rehearsal dinner, it's halloween, so we go back to the reception hall and set up candies and peanuts for the favors, rewash all the stem ware, and make sure the tables are set properly.




The reception hall when we finished.

I get home at about 10, get tired of the tension between my mother and myself and go to bed.

The next morning, up at 7 to do my hair and get back to the reception hall at 9. At the hall we get the baloons ready, set up cookies, and any last minute details. We finally shoo Theresa (the bride) out at about 10:30, I stick around about another 20 minutes, and go home. My hair fell horribly, a combination of the silicone straitener I used and a light misty rain I was in the middle of, so I shower and redo it.

Then off to the church, where I start taking pictures. The bridal party is in one of the study rooms, the groomsmen are... who knows. My brother drove me and helped me bring my dress, shoes, purse, other purse, makeup, and jacket. Everyone was so surprised to see him. He's tall, filled out some, and back from Iraq.

Everything getting ready goes pretty well. We get Theresa into her dress, and then we get into ours, taking pictures of us ladies as we go. Crystal and Corralyne (spelling?) and I looked marvelous. Then we looked at the flowers. The bridal bouquet was purple Cala Lillies with white flowers. And us bridesmades had three white Cala Lilies. Absolutely Elegant! They complimented the gowns gloriously.

The flowergirl gets in, M, and she's told that her direction is that she will walk behind me. We did this so that she won't get stage fright of being the first person out.





Then Theresa decides that since we have time and all the cousins and family seem to be here, we'll take pictures, including some of her family, before the service. So we all head outside while the cousins gather the aunts, uncles, grandparents, and greatgrandparents. They aren't coming out so after we do our bridesmaid pix we go back inside.

At which point Theresa's mother comes running into the preperation room, grabs the photographer, and yells at her:

"I DO NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM THE HIRED HELP"
(T's mom is a nurse and her dad is an electrician. They're not normally in positions of having people "beneath" them, so this is/not normal at all.)

The religious officiating figure comes rushing in and leads her mother out "What do YOU still need to do, let's focus on that. The wedding won't start without everyone, and everyone else will wait."

Thank God's helpers. At this point the flower girl is quivering and literally interpreting her direction to stand behind me. My dress is clenched in one of her fists, and she has a death grip on the basket of flower petals.


The religious official helping diffuse the situation.

So then we continue with what we're doing, get in line for the wedding, and her father looks at her and says: "That's the veil? How the hell do I get THAT out of your face?" We all eyeroll and hope that her parents won't continue this and other, nonreported, attempts to be at the center of the event. IT'S THERESA AND DAVID'S DAY DAMMIT! Then we show him that although the veil is massive, the part up front is smaller and you bring it over her head just like if it were a welder's visor.

Music starts (finally!) and we file out and to the front. The veil is done fine. The pastor/reverend/ordained person said some marvelous things about love and togetherness and trust - very little if anything about GOD and JESUS - it actually made me a little weepy, hoping to find someone who I can share that sort of emotional intimacy/trust with for so long.

Then we headed out of the church, did a receiving line. Atleast 5 people I graduated with were like "Oh Hi! How are you?! It's been so long!" And I couldn't remember their name, just something about how I didn't like them because they were mean so why the hell were they here, they must have changed and keep in touch with Theresa. And I smile saying "Yes, it has been too long, hasn't it."

Once everyone was outside, they had bottles of bubbles, and when the bride and groom came out of the church wwe blew bubbles. I managed to get a gob of the solution flicked into my eye, so before the NEXT round of pictures I ran inside and redid my eye makeup.

Pictures in the church, pictures outside, then we jump in Corralyn's car and head to the reception hall. Once there, we wait about half an hour for the bride and groom (they went to ANOTHER location to take pix... an archway in the cemetary). Then we all get introduced and sit down at the head table.


The favors and place cards.


Food was delicious! Appatizers were Kelbasa (aka kelbessy) and meatballs. The main meals were BBQ beef briscuit or chicken cordon bleu. Vegetables were typical big seating medley of cauliflower, carrot, and something else. I was SO hungry between getting the reception hall ready and all. I had a sandwich at lunch but I was still hungry. So when the caterers brought extra chickens to our table, I (and others) totally dug into it.


Cakes


Theresa and Crystal

Through this, I wandered over to a table populated with my friends from high school, some with their significant others and one pregnant (with her second!!!), and took some pictures of them. My mother was sitting with them. At one point, I hear one say "I don't mind when someone talks politics, but I figure why should I try to convince someone of my view?" and someone responds "I totally agree, it's just not polite." And, ironically, I fight back responding that convincing people is more of educating them to views they aren't aware of yet and that my future is dependant on others making properly informed decision.





She's 6 month's pregnant. With number 2!

Then we have all the dancings. Daughter daddy. Wife and husband. Dollar dance (1 dollar gets you a shot!).


The bride (I'm so proud of this picture!)


With her father





Then more dancing!


Theresa's Grandmother Boogieing on DOWN!



Theresa's GREAT GRANDMOTHER DOING THE TWIST!!!


Happy Couples!


Beth dancing and messing with a camera.


And more hanging out!


We were all elsewhere.


Bonnie (David's mom) David, Theresa, and Matt taking a quick break from the people, people, and more people.


The siblings and their SigOthers.


See - where's still not around.


Crystal with Johnathan

About 10PM we shut down and started cleaning up. Thankfully we finally get things set to a good point, after Theresa's mom goes on for a while about... I'm not totally sure entirely but I think it had something with the kegs. Corralyne and Theresa's brother Matt gave me a ride back.

Success.

And then I drove home.

PA farmland


Carlisle War College

a good time

Last night we had a birthday party for my dear friend and friend-in-crime for multiple adventures in the past.  we had a fun evening with just a few of us.  Morgan showed up a little early to help me with last minute stuff, like running to the store for a few ingredients I was short on.

But we had a new set of semi-china (ironstone?) complete with bone plates and ... baked potato plates? ...  who knows - it's a random set of dishes that my mother got me.  My mother got me dishes? Surprise!!

But the chocolate cake was delish and the red beans and rice (recipe later) were welcomed.

Yay Party!

Am I too nice? - communication with an ex

I got an email from A this morning - yes, the ex.

So, as I find it hard to forget because I was there, and as I think multiple people have heard, my last relationship (with A) didn't end too well.  It was full of tears and screams and spite.  He checked my blogs and myspace continually.  He wouldn't let me be at my house.  When I saw his roommate/coworker at Brewers Jam who kept hanging out with my group, I was told that he's not over me, that he keeps talking about me.  I was asked, in front of Morgan, if there was any chance we would get *back* together so that A would calm down.  Imagine what he would be like if I had been the one who broke up with HIM!

In this process, after a series of not plesent emails that I left unanswered he sends a more ominous one that makes me think he'll start (again) with the random showing up at my door.  This is when I finally respond to him simply telling him that I don't want to ever see/hear him again and to leave me alone.

He got the hint.  He still hit my blog for a while.  It was after this that I saw his roomate who talked to me.  But eventually I stopped getting hits from Cookeville and Crossville on my Myspace and my blogger.  So either he stopped reading or he found a really good IP hider.

And I was happy that the negativity of the situation had left.  I was still friends with his sister-in-law, so that was cool.  I'm a little upset that this has made it so that if she has something awesome (like her first friday show) I need to check that there will be no potential for drama, but that hasn't been a problem yet.

But then this morning I get an email from A. subject line "hello friend! how are you these days"

I wonder if I should open it, but something doesn't seem right about it.

1. I was up about 9AM. I went to bed about 1AM.  He's not normally up before 10AM and is in another time zone, so that would be my 11AM.  And he wouldn't bother sending me anything after his midnight.  Not after so long.
2. It wasn't capitalized right.  A was big about proper grammer. it used to annoy him when I would write/chat all in lower case
3. The exclamation point after friend.  A hated exclamation points.
4. He called me friend.  After all that I explained
   

I open it and find it's a spam advertising for some electronics site.  I sit there and wonder what I should do about this.  Am I the only one who knows? How will he figure out?

So I respond to his other email address.

"I think someone other than you has access to your email address. this looks like spam. I'm responding your other email as resending to the one that may be compromised seems pointless."


I hope I didn't open up some unwanted connection.  But at the same time, having an email account compromised is serious.

Don't Let Obama overshadow the Issues

Obama/Biden is the chosen pair. Awesome. This is the positive set. The one that will NOT work against my values, as opposed to the heteronormative, anti-choice, gender-discriminatory McCain/Palin ticket. I may seem behind on celebrating, but I've been working on a massive post about the wedding I went to. And I got sick.

But what about all the local propositions?

South Dakota's totalitarian abortion ban failed. Good.
Colorado's attempt to define personhood as conception failed. Good.

What are we upset about?

I'm upset because:
Arkansas banned fostering or adoption by unmarried couples, and since gay marriage is not allowed this further disenfranchises homosexual couples as well as those who don't wish to participate in a heteronormative institution.
Arizona banned gay marriage.
Nebraska removed Affirmative Action from it's constitution. (WTF!)
Florida banned gay marriage.
California banned gay marriage, revoking marriage licenses from multiple married couples. Updated. But it doesn't make it any less of an issue!

So homosexuals are the new second class citizens. Look, I'm already refering to them as an "other". They must be. Ooops, theres "they" again. But we still let them live with their friends, isn't that what they want?

::sigh::

In addition to the demonstrations, there are two movements that I'm getting in on regarding this revoking / restricting of rights.

1. Second Class Citizens Don't Pay Taxes - If "the gays" are second class citizens, they obviously don't need to pay taxes. This movement is lead by none other than Melissa Etheridge. Huh. My gay friend (see, I have one! My "token" friend.) is also named Melissa. Must be a gay thing. See girls, you aren't allowed to marry anyone named Melissa, at least not in California, Florida, or Arizona. (Mel, please see the sarcasm dripping from that if for some reason it was as invisible as same sex marriage rights!)

2. Pressure IRS to Make LDS Not Tax Exempt - The Morman church supplied almost 80% of the funding to advertise for Prop 8 (against gay marriage - some confusing wording there). That's $19,000,000 (19 million dollars. the 000's are impressive!!!). $19 million to influence legeslation. Huh. Wait. LDS is a church, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. So they're tax exempt. But the IRS states "no organization, including a church, may qualify for IRC section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation (commonly known as lobbying)." Support removing tax exempt status from the Mormon Church by signing this petition. Let's not forget that the Mormons originally had an issue with the American legal definition of marriage between one man and ONE WOMAN. Hence why Brigham Young stated "Marriage is a civil contract. You might as well make a law to say how many children a man shall have, as to make a law to say how many wives he shall have."

Party!

Voting Roundup

Well, actually, thanks to the early voting process in Tennessee, I voted a few weeks ago.  I've sent out reminder emails to people who hadn't made an intent to vote clear, and now I'm at work discussing our hopes and dreams in a particularly left wing office setting.

But now that we voted, what to do? (In addition to dragging other people to the polls)...

Free Stuff  - A couple places are giving out free snacks as a reward for voting. You can bring proof (stubs/reciepts/regestration cards), but most take your word on it.

• Krispy Kreme - You get a free donut
• Starbucks - You get a free tall coffee
• Ben and Jerry's (after 6PM) - You get a free single scoop of icecream

Watch the Results

• Bruce Schneier at Making Light - as the polls close.  Making Light beat CNN on the first poll results of the nation.  Dixville Notch- Obama:15, McCain:6.  We have a good start!
• Democracy Now - 7PM-Midnight EST
• GRITtv - Noon-2PM

election eve

i'm back from pa and wanted to write something awesome about what i termed "the great red slash" of PA (the I-81 and route 11/15 corridor).  I was driving I-81 through Virginia, listening to NPR, getting updates on polls and criticism/decontruction of polls and two different episodes of car talk, when I passed a barn.  It was painted black with, in large white letters, "I'M VOTING FOR THE HOT CHICK"

then i got sick. major food poisoning/stomach bug/something in my innards.

so i'll give you a link instead.

Sarah Palin on the first amendment
check out update #3 .... it has the actual mp3.

"It's been a stressful few days" or: why my boyfriend is the most patient, kind, understanding individual ever

was a text message morgan sent me today in reply to my message of "I'm tired and I'm hungry.  Please have an idea for food when I'm done work."

That was about 1.30PM today.  He wanted to take me out, but I just really wanted a Papa Murphy's stuffed pizza.

You see, this is what was supposed to have happened:

Tuesday:
9-1: work
1-?: pack, clean house, clean car, cuddle with cats, maybe dinner with morgan
Wednesday:
9-1: work
1-midnight: drive to PA

Instead, I'm still in Knoxville because:
9-1: work, realize I need to make up a lecture so
1-3.40: stay at work catching up on paperwork and stuff
3:40-5: Lecture
5-7:30: Farmers Market, dinner with Morgan
7:30-9: doze/nap poorly (oops)
9-10: talk, procrastinate, tell Morgan bad jokes
10PM: Notice that my phone is buzzing and that I have tons of missed calls.  Check my email, notice multiple messages. 
10PM-5AM: field phone calls, coordinate emails, find hospital, attempt to communicate with friend's family

Basically, one of my friends fell ill (well, she had been ill when I saw her earlier) and was brought to the hospital.  She had hung up on another friend in the middle of a phone call at "There's someone at the door. Oh, it's ::mumble mumble::" and that was it.  She called her boyfriend to tell him where she was, but that also got cut off.  Her sister was involved in it somehow, but I still can't figure that out.  So take concerned friends, a confused sick woman alone in the ER (family only) until some aunts from the area get there, and a boyfriend who is extremely concerned (as he should be) and you have my night.  The last phone call came in/went out about 3.30, then I sent emails to appropriate professors to give them a heads up about her absence, and then *tried* to sleep. Which was hard.  I kept wondering when the next phone call would come in, when her mother would get into town, how this had progressed to such a stage.  And I was at Morgan's, so he didn't get any sleep at all.

So I got some fitful sleep from 5 until 9AM when I realized I had extremely overslept, got ready for work cursing up a sailor's storm because I knew parking would be a bitch.  Morgan got up with me and drove me to campus.  When I finished, he came and picked me up and we got pizza and cat food.

I lazed some through the afternoon, worried about her.  Morgan and I discuss a couple of issues rolling through my head, placed there by the liberal media l33t (aka: bloggers).  I heard from her mother, got an update and a few more things to do, did them, and started to feel sleepy.  As I start to finally doze, I get another phone call from the extremely agitated/worried boyfriend.  Fill him in on the nothing new except she's still in the hospital, and realize I'm wide awake again.

So now I'm grouchy.

Try to fall back asleep, it doesn't work, join Morgan in the living room and dink on the computer as while I'm awake, at the same time my arse is dragging a mile behind me.  Notice I still haven't cleaned out my car or packed for the trip I was supposed to be half way through.

We watch the Obama TV special.  He runs to Walgreens (he's out of toothpaste and we totally forgot to grab some earlier), I so don't want to do anything, so i resign myself to an early bedtime and a really early wake up without doing the laundry I wanted to do.  

Morgan comes back with a pint of Hagen Daaz Chocolate ice cream for me. 

I'm slowly savoring it.

I'm killing time before a lecture that I need to make up.  I'm hungry (I've had 2 cups of coffee and a "gourmet wafer cookie") and I'm just generally annoyed that I forgot my cell phone yesterday which indirectly led to me not realizing that I was missing lecture.  This means I need to attend with the undergraduates. The indignity!

The annoying part is that I need to go back to my house and clean, pack, and do laundry for tomorrow as then I need to get up, go to work, and then drive the 10+ hours back to my parent's house in bumblefuck, pennsylvania.

Yay, heteronormativity.



People have heard of and met my parents, and they know that our personalities don't often ... mesh.  So I'm a little worried about the days I need to spend there.  The only reason I'll be there is because my friend from high school is getting married and there's no uncomplicated/uninsulting way to find another place to stay. 

I'm tired of being told that everything I'm doing is wrong.  And just once I would like them to call me by my name.

On the bright side, my brother is state side, and he's looking for colleges so he doesn't need to go back and shoot people for a living (yet).  Hopefully by the time is college career is done things will have calmed down.  Hopefully the starting of a college career will open him to new political views which will temper some strongly impressed rural PA, super right wing values.

While I'm gone, Morgan will be watching my house and cats.  The cats will stand guard for anyone imposing on my non-present hospitality.  They will rip out lungs through the nose and draw testes through a foremen magnum.

They're dangerous.  I wish I could bring them with me.

i can has multiple links

so LOL humor has taken many random meme turns.

So LOL Link List

• I Can Has Cheezburger - the original classic
• LOLTheorists - Social theory done LOLstyle. NOAM NOAM NOAM
• LOLcats can has science - Schroedinger's Cat and more
• I can has cadherin - Med School can has funny
  

link dump

My good dear friend Kazen, who is leaving for Japan in a few months (awesome) turned me on to Delicious. I know it's been around for a while, I just never tried it. It's pretty fun to work with. So we've been trading links back and forth for the last few weeks, and I have a tag of "blogable" articles and stuff that I think would be interesting to write about. I've had a similar bookmark folder in Firefox.

But some of these have lost their fire. And yet at the same time I saved them because I thought others would find them interesting. So here's a dump. Some are frivolous, most aren't.

• On Sexual Rights:
• "Rape only hurts if you fight it" - A college journalist claims that an editorial was meant as a satire. The problem is that a satire is supposed to be funny and thought provoking. On Women's Space the full text of the editorial is presented along with a well organized rebuttal including statements from officials involved in this issue and an exploration of the white male privilege.
• Battling the Myth of Gray Rape - This is part of the whole "she was asking for it / she deserved it" argument line. Cosmo and multiple books have addressed this "issue," where if a partner withdraws consent but the other chooses to ignore it, then "it can't be rape."
  
• Puberty is Consent - The link to the original CNN article wasn't working at the time of this blogging, so the link goes to an analysis. Basically one of those Evangalist cult preachers who marries young girls (some at the age of 8) to older men claims that puberty is the only consent that any man needs.
• Take Back the Tech - The Private is Political. But sometimes you want to keep your private as private. This site has tools, technology, and information to keep your privacy and to prevent others from leveraging power by controling your communication.
  
• On Environment
• How to use less CO2- At slate.com. This is a good list of things to do to use less CO2. It also includes links to Slate's green challenge.
• Stop Mountain Top Removal - I said: STOP MOUNTAIN TOP REMOVAL! I used to have a picture of a stripped mountain on my sidebar. This site has information about strip mining, environmental impacts, links to petitions, and activist opportunities.
• On Technology and Science
  
• The Order of the Science Scouts of Exemplary Repute and Above Average Physique - Badges! For Scientists!
• Take Back the Tech! - Worth repeating, prevent yourself from individuals using your communication technology against you.
• T3knomanser's Illegal Colors - Remember the illegal number for un/coding DVDs? T3chnomanser converted the hexadecimal number into a set of five different colors (using hex-color codes).
• Rushkoff Here - A discussion as to whether or not culture is open source.
• Speigel Online - Pictures of what new TSA body scanning software shows.
  
• On Politics
• Palin: wrong woman, wrong message - Gloria Steinam on why Palin is NOT a feminist icon.
• No Ordinary Woman -"women will truly have arrived when the most mediocre among us will be able to do just as well as the most mediocre of men" (another article on Palin)
• McCain's hero Teddy Roosevelt was more socialist than Obama - I've been saying this all along. Why doesn't it get publicity until some white dude writes about it. Talk about priviledge. It's not like Timothy Noah (the author) has any credenti.... oh, he's the senior writer.
• Callie Shell - Obama - A series of photographs from the campaign trail. Many are very personal and candid. (I'll prob do more on this one later)
• That One 08 - Using McCain's gaffe as a reason to register another domain name. And sell merchandise. Vote for That One in 2008.
  

Obama on Left, McCain on Right, We can talk politics all night. And you can vote however you like.

This is a far cry from the "secret ballot" school mock elections.



I think a part of this is the constant appeal to get more people involved in the election process. The "Get out the Vote" program of the Bush 2004 campaign and it's trailing residuals as well as Obama's community organizer, bottom to top, encouragement of all.




So why are some adults so ignorant? I don't mind if people support the Republican views (fyi: priceless moment in this video- Male: "It's women's rights!" Female: "It's babykilling, I don't care what you call it!"). It's just the lies and fear mongering that are making me upset about how the election goes.

Politicking on the South Side

I went and voted last week at the Early Voting down by my grocery store.  It's so convenient that it seems just lazy for people down in South Knox to not vote. Criminal almost.

I get there and there are short lines, with 2 or maybe 3 people in them.  The place is entirely staffed by efficient senior women.  Retirees seem like they are a large enough part of the population that this would be expected, but for some reason it struck me, both their age and their gender.

First the gender.  Here are women taking an active part in making sure that their neighborhood's votes, for or against their personal choice, are collected and counted.  As we've seen, particularly in this election and more so by the investigation on Obama's tactics, this bottom to top approach is likely going to be what makes future political approaches different (I know other groups have been doing it, it's just that it hasn't been so visible to the general public until now).  So this is grassroots, they are the primary workers with the commodity of votes. Closest to this resource of change, the first to be able to implement the will of the people.

And to think that other women are ready to take away a woman's right to chose.  Palin with the Anti-choice (not pro-life, not ever pro-life) platform.  Even Ann Coulter wants to take away a woman's right to vote.  These women have seen the civil rights movement, the feminist movements.  Whether or not they were participants or even supporters of it or , they are ready to support the choice of the current residents of South Knox.

And the age thing? Well, I will admit that although it seems ageist, I never expected to get computer directions from a retiree.  She was the most patient in explaining the voting machines and went through every button.  She wouldn't leave until I could prove that I knew how to enter in my number. 

I left the polling place oddly conflicted. But happy. I excercised my right to vote in a most pleasent atmosphere.  Honestly, I felt so well treated I was surprised when I got back to my car that they didn't hand out cookies and "be nice to me, I just voted" stickers.

techno entertainment luddite adventure journey go!

while i'm not necessarily on the cutting edge of technology, i've normally been in the upper quartile at the least of knowing what stuff meant.  that is, of course, except for entertainment stuff.

so the other day morgan and i went out west in an attempt to see batman at the dollar theater (which now charges 4$ but gives you complimentary soda and popcorn).  we got there and found out that the newspaper messed up the listings.  i really didn't want to pay $10 for a ticket to a movie i had already seen and i was hungry.  this whole snafu made me sad and somewhat grumpy, as i had worked it out in my head and it was a marvelous plan to get morgan out of a funk caused by an annoying stats test.  we were driving home down kingston when morgan pointed out a decadent billboard and said "wow, that looks good." intent on doing something to get out of this mutual grump, i decided that desert would be a marvelous idea so we turn around.  in the process we end up in a store parking lot.  interested, we go in thinking that we would just check out if anything was interesting.

well, there was.  the sales person was so helpful! at the same time she upsold me twice! but you know what, i really like what i ended up with.  the first model was small, compact, with only one feature.  The second was larger with a variable setting.  The third and final had more than one function and three sets of conrols for a total of 5 buttons.  morgan and i messed with it while in the store and while at first this seemed rather intimidating, it didn't seem like something i couldn't handle.  so i had her bag it up and she got my name and all that good stuff and we took it home.

i feel like such a dork not knowing everything about all these tech toys.  i mean, i refuse to even think about ipods because they're apple, and the other mp3s... i have one, don't need more info. comp stats are lost on me. video games? fsck, i got me an NES and PS2. that's all anyone needs. right? right.

so looking at the walls and racks of technojoy totally freaked me out.  congrats saleswoman, you made me happy!