epporsimuove

epporsimuove @ 2010-08-17T12:05:00

2010-08-17T16:07:08Z

Because this is America, dammit.

And in America when someone comes for your neighbor, or his Bible, or his Torah, or his atheist manifesto, or his Koran, you and I do what our fathers did and our grandmothers did and our founders did, you and I speak up. - Keith Olbermann

~~full transcript should be out soon; I'll post it when it is.~~ ETA: Thanks to silveradept the full transcript is now under the cut.

( Special Comment )

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epporsimuove @ 2010-08-13T00:31:00

2010-08-13T04:31:20Z

This recent rash of people treating me like shit needs to end NOW!

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John Waters

2010-07-28T19:35:27Z

I heard most of this interview driving to church last week. The interview is with John Waters (dir. Pink Flamingos and Hairspray).

GROSS: In writing about pornography and pornographers in this chapter, you write: "I know that true love is supposed to be companionship, growing old together, blah, blah, blah. I thought that's what friends were for, not sexual partners. Some of us want hot, lunatic, porn sex and we want it forever."

Mr. WATERS: Yeah, that's true. I have great friends that I grow old with, that know everything about me, that I'm intimate with, intellectually and everything, but if I'm going to go to the trouble of living with somebody, sharing my life with them, I want great sex. I don't understand not doing that. I understand both things, but to me they're separate - that I have friends that supply all that, and if I'm going to have a partner I want to have great sex with them.

Still, not give that up. And that doesn't always happen, but a lot of times it does. I'm not criticizing that either. Every person is different. I'm a healthy neurotic. I know I'm neurotic. I don't want what everybody else has. I don't need another person to make me feel whole.

GROSS: But...

Mr. WATERS: I feel crowded.

GROSS: So you've stayed single.

Mr. WATERS: Yes. Oh yes. I've had - yeah, certainly I've had - I've lived with people but I'm not good with living with people - as roommates, boyfriends, anything; family, anybody. I'm better to live alone because I don't want somebody that would allow them to live in my house that is so decorated that it's obviously I live there.

There is something in this that I really identify with.

This part too:

Tennessee Williams wasn't a gay cliche. So I had the confidence to try to not be one myself. Gay was not enough. It was a good start, however.

(Soundbite of laughter)

GROSS: So he gave you confidence to be gay but not fit a stereotype of gay. What were some of the other...

Mr. WATERS: He gave me the confidence to be a beatnik, really, to be a gay beatnik or to be - not even to be a beatnik who is gay. That's very different. You know, you went into a field of all different kinds of rebels, and their sexuality was always - still, my friends are, it doesn't matter if they're gay or straight. If I'm friendly with somebody, that has literally no interest to me whether I like the person or not. And I'm always amazed by people that say, oh, you should go with this agent. He has all gay people. Well, why would I go with him? It's like saying he has all black people. But are they good? Are they bad? I mean, that's what counts.

So I always liked the gay people that had trouble even fitting in the gay stereotype, because I don't like rules of any kind, and I seek people that break them with happiness and not bringing pain to themselves.

GROSS: So what were some of the cliches you did not want to be, as a teenager?

Mr. WATERS: I wanted to be an outlaw. You know, that's why I have trouble now. You know, I understand wanting gay marriage. I would never vote for somebody that was against gay marriage. I purposely have no desire to imitate a rather corny tradition of heterosexuals, to me. I would owe three alimonies.

Emphasis mine

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Two Musical Theatre Quotes that are Applicable to My Life Right Now

2010-07-27T20:17:27Z

"SING OUT, LOUISE!!" - Gypsy (directed towards everyone in the cast of the show I am stage managing)

and

"Kids! Be free, be whatever you are, do whatever you want to do, just so long as you don't hurt anybody." - Hair (directed at everyone in rl and on the interwebs)

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My New OTP

2010-06-21T03:36:03Z

( Spoilers for Doctor Who 5x10: Vincent and The Doctor )

The speech in the art gallery is my new favorite quote I think.

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Half about me and half about the FGM at Cornell including links

2010-06-18T04:33:08Z

This morning I woke up to a news story that really bothered me. Except that it didn't. I was mad, sure, I could tell I was angry, enraged even, but I was lacking my normal empathy for the victims of this story.

I went about my day, took the girls to the pool, ate dinner with J, went to rehearsal. I spent the day obsessively checking my email for the call-back list for Annie (nothing yet). I got home, and suddenly I felt it.

I was pissed. So mad I could barely speak. It colored all of my interactions with my dad - which are problematic already right now due to my feeling like I am supposed to do everything for him on top of my own life - as well as my absorption of the news and my feeds. Now, I cannot figure out how I am going to sleep, and I really need to sleep.

Part of what is bothering me so much is that this is not everywhere. Why did Maddow not talk about this tonight? Where is outrage on twitter? Feministing? [ETA: Now up at Feministing] What the hell?

I can barely breathe. What I really need is for my mom to come online so I can talk to her about it. Or to talk to Amanda (this will probably happen in a few minutes). I need to see the outrage. I need people to call out this misogynistic, homophobic, violent behavior. I need to hear that this 'experiment' has ceased immediately. I need to hear how shit like this got passed the IRB of Cornell.

I need to breathe.

All of this is a real worry when I think about the career I am pursuing. Being able to set aside my empathy and anger for a short time is a good thing, but not being able to lay it aside and sleep or interact with people is a big problem. I need to learn how to deal with it.

Links related to the Cornell Female Genital Mutilation story:

ONTD_Political
The original piece that drew attention to this study
Dan Savage's Reporting of it
Concrete action to take
The relation between this surgery and attempting to erase queer women
A follow-up by the authors

[ETA: Talk to my mom. Cried, ranted and feel...not better, but like I can fall asleep now.]

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(Really) Shitty Stuff Done in the Name of Science

2010-06-17T13:40:09Z

Female Genital Mutilation at Cornell University

WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!?

Why exactly would any one think this is okay? And how did it get by the Cornell IRB?

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Seriously, Mary and Marshall are awesome!

2010-05-09T03:16:02Z

So I pretty much disappeared for a few days, but I did post daily for a week so...go me! I also have a whole slew of posts to comment on, but it probably won't happen until tomorrow when I am procrastinating my work. :)

What does everyone think about how the solution for the biggest leak in the Gulf oil pipeline is currently not working? My thoughts range between fuck!, resigned exhaustion, and anger at the arrogant S.O.B's who thought drilling in an area where they could not ensure safety (human and environmental) was a great idea.

In happier news, I am now completely obsessed with In Plain Sight. I have to admit, I am really happy about geeking about about the show; it is the first show since Farscape last year that I have really geeked out about (including the bouncing, babbling, and running through the seasons at a breakneck pace). Anyone else watch Mary and Marshall against the world?

/completely pointless post

Time for bed.

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epporsimuove @ 2010-05-03T22:39:00

2010-05-04T03:01:37Z

If you haven't yet, go read synecdochic's post the ghost in the room, or, why modesty is a dirty word.

I need to go to bed, and I don't really have much to say today except, I got a new job this morning working for a non-profit run by the woman I nanny for. I officially start at naptime tomorrow, and I am pretty excited!

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The Pond is Awesome!

2010-05-02T04:10:02Z

So I just got done watching Doctor Who 5x03 - "The Victory of the Daleks", and all I have to say is...

Amy Pond is awesome!!!!

I'm totally running away with her.

Plus, just saw the preview for next weeks episode and I saw ( casting spoiler ) WIN! This is going to be the best episode ever.

I am so happy I'm getting back into Doctor Who. Anyone else wanna squee with me?

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epporsimuove @ 2010-05-01T22:30:00

2010-05-02T02:32:14Z

Last night I had a conversation about the future.

Now, anyone who knows me offline knows that I often talk about my future professional life: what I want to do, where I want to be, what I want to study. While I am still unsure of the specifics, I have come a long way in my year off towards discovering what is important to me.

However, I rarely talk about my personal future. Children, marriage, partnership, etc, are concepts with which I have an strained relationship.

( In which I discuss my feelings on marriage and partnership )

And in order to keep this post from being completely depressing, have a super cute picture.

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National Poetry Month

2010-05-01T02:35:37Z

Did you know April is National Poetry Month?

And I, self-proclaimed poetry geek, have not posted a single poem. In recognition of the hour and a half left in April, here are five of my current favorites.

( Curiosity by Alastair Reid )

( My Easy God is Gone by James Kavanaugh )

( For a Five-Year-Old by Fleur Adcock )

( At the Arraignment by Debra Spencer )

( All That Time by May Swenson )

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Abortion and Schrodinger's Cat

2010-04-30T03:06:32Z

I really don’t have anything to say today. I have been having an exciting and civil discussion about abortion all day on Facebook (weird, right?). I am going to copy a bit of what I wrote here so I can remember this because I think it is something I am going to be talking about a bit more.

The question was whether a fetus was a human and therefore watching an ultrasound before an abortion would be traumatic, or whether it was just an object in which case an ultrasound should not be traumatic at all.

My reply:
It is not one or the other. It is not a binary; not a baby or an inanimate object. Until birth (or the third trimester, second by some states) the fetus exists as Schrodinger's cat, neither a person nor inanimate. Some religious and spiritual beliefs have a different view of when the mass of cells becomes a person, that's fine. But it is not a fact, it is a belief. Therefore, the government should not be making decisions based on said belief.

The issue of personhood is the crux. Not when is a fetus alive or human, but when is it a person? I have heard all different types of rationales. The instant of conception (which is kinda odd because most fertilized eggs don't embed and are thus ejected from the body), when the heart beats, when there are brainwaves, when it is can survive outside of the womb, at birth, or (my personal belief) when the mother forms a relationship with it. It is unprovable in quantifiable terms and therefore should not be influencing our legislation.

So, now I am thinking of doing a post on my absolute hatred of binaries.

I would also like to say that my journal is usually not so abortion heavy, but the recent Oklahoma law has me up in arms.

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F*** Yeah, Jenny's Awesome

2010-04-29T02:39:28Z

Every time I think about female characters that need a fuck yeah, she’s awesome post, two characters always pop into my head right away: Jenny Shepard from NCIS and Elizabeth Weir from Stargate: Atlantis. I’m finally going to taken these two and show the world why I love them (and you should too!), starting with Jenny Shepard.

( I take it walking in my heels has presented a challenge )

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Cause I'm Moving to New York Cause I Got Problems With My Sleep

2010-04-28T03:46:11Z

A second post today.

It's been decided. I will be attending NYU next semester to receive my MA in the Draper Interdisciplinary Program.

So I'm moving to to New York City!!!

Now to find an apartment, a job, friends, a social life, etc.

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And the Shade is Mighty Thin in Oklahoma

2010-04-28T03:33:23Z

So I went to yoga, ate dinner (eggs in spicy tomato sauce…mmm), and watched an episode of Farscape and Glee. I think I have finally calmed down enough to talk about Oklahoma.

Last Friday (23 April 2010), Governor Brad Henry vetoed two anti-abortion bills passed by the Oklahoma congress. He signed a third bill mandating new signed in the offices of abortion providers.

Today, the Oklahoma State Senate voted 36-12 to overturn the governor’s veto.

( Descriptions of the two bills and commentary )

BTW: The title is from the song "Oklahoma" from the ridiculously funny musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

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Three Weeks for Dreamwidth

2010-04-26T16:47:26Z

I am going to try to post everyday for three_weeks_for_dw. So...What kind of topics/entries would you like to see me posting about? Any particular questions you've always wanted to ask me but have resisted because the answer would be a huge essay? Ever want to wind me up and watch me go on a particular topic? Anything you've heard me say "I should write that entry about $foo I've been meaning to write" and have been patiently waiting for?

All posts for three_weeks_for_dw will be hosted only on dreamwidth for three weeks.

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Healthcare

2010-03-24T20:51:04Z

Saved here for posterity. Via a conversation I am having on Facebook.

( healthcare. anyone surprised? )

On an entirely separate note. I signed up to participate in the THE SHIPPER MANIFESTO CHALLENGE
at het_reccers for John/Aeryn. Anyone got any recs they really enjoy?

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epporsimuove @ 2010-01-13T14:29:00

2010-01-14T00:04:17Z

Fuck this shit.

According to DC (and NYC and SF), if you are a woman carrying three condoms or more you are obviously a prostitute. Seriously, this makes me want to buy a box of condoms and carry it around on my trip to NYC this week. As many have pointed out, this policy not only demonizes women who are having sex, but it will likely lead to an upswing in unprotected sex among both sex workers and non-sex workers. It is hard enough getting some women to feel comfortable buying condoms because of social perceptions about sexual women, but lets make it so those condoms could get women arrested too! Sometimes, I wonder who makes these policies and what exactly they are thinking when they do. There is a petition to the mayors of NYC, DC, and San Fransisco urging them to end this policy.

And

Pregnant women ordered to bed rest against wishes. This is where the slippery slope abortion argument becomes detrimental. By saying that a fetus is more important than the woman carrying it, pro-lifers are setting the stage for sickening cases like this.

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epporsimuove @ 2009-12-14T21:54:00

2009-12-15T02:54:54Z

According to a new study out of the University of Minnesota, there is "no higher level of psychological distress among young men and women who engage in casual sexual relationships."

I don't want to talk to much about the results of the study, they don't surprise me much, but the author of this article found it necessary to include this gem:

The takeaway message isn't that casual sex is OK — not with the risks of sexually transmitted disease, unintended pregnancy and even sexual violence that can occur, [the lead researcher] said.

What the fuck? You have just found that casual sex does not lead to higher rates of psychological distress, but BEWARE!!! casual sex is still bad for you? Ummm...no. First of all, comprehensive sexual education and birth control (condoms, chemical birth control, etc) dramatically reduce the risk of STDs and unintended pregnancy. Use protection and the risks are few. Secondly, CASUAL SEX =/= SEXUAL VIOLENCE. There is no correlation. That this level of victim blaming comes from the lead researcher of this study, and that the reporter felt the need to include this shit, is offensive and pisses me the hell off.

Really, anyone else tired of this form of fear-mongering and victim blaming arising again and again even as the data shows it to be baseless?

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Richard Cohen on Rachel Maddow

2009-12-09T20:15:04Z

Last night, Richard Cohen, a gay-to-straight activist whose company has been linked to the kill the gays bill currently in the Parliament of Uganda, was interviewed by my idol, Rachel Maddow. The video and transcripts are behind the cut.

( VIDEO - The Rachel Maddow Show : Interview with Richard Cohen (08 December 2009) )

( TRANSCRIPT - The Rachel Maddow Show : Interview with Richard Cohen (08 December 2009) )

There are a couple of really important points here that I would like to emphasize. First of all, Rachel Maddow emphasizes over and over again that Cohen is not accredited by any professional physiological or psychiatric organization in the US or Canada. Secondly, Cohen's information is blatantly false; there are two passages that she reads to him where he says it is wrong and will not be included in the next edition. Thirdly, Cohen apparently does not know what is even in his book.

However, the most detrimental aspect of Cohen's "work" and organization is Cohen's inability to see how harmful his, and the right's, continued assurance that non-heterosexuality is a choice or a psychological condition. If being non-straight is a choice and a viable option, then the doorway is thrown open for legislation like Uganda's kill-the-gays bill. In addition, this falsehood is incredibly harmful to young people who are coming out to themselves or the world. It reinforces the idea that non-heterosexuals are wrong, confused, and less than their straight counterparts. It is one of the reasons the suicide rate for LGBT teens is so much higher than the suicide rate for non-LGBT. It is the reason X called me crying, saying "I don't want to be gay. I want to be normal; I want to be happy." Maddow may not have said it, but I will. Fuck you Mr. Cohen.

For a slightly funny take, see this spot from InfoMania.

I am working on a transcript for this video.

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Moving Backwards towards Progress

2009-11-08T19:54:49Z

As most people know, I am a big supporter of health care reform. I support a strong public option. I support universal health care. If I had my way, we would have socialized health care (whatever that means).

So, of course, I was happy that the health care bill passed the house last night. However, I am happy purely because we passed a health care bill. But that bill itself...

I cannot believe that an anti-abortion amendment was attached to this bill. What is more, I cannot believe that 64 Democrats, two of them women, voted for this amendment. The Democrats have a large majority in both chambers of Congress. There is a Democrat sitting in the Oval Office. Why, then, are my reproductive rights being taken away? This is a battle we have already fought. On a bill that is supposed to be progressive, moving us forward, why are women being moved back? What's more, why is it always women's rights that are the first to go? No one would ever consider taking away insurance coverage for Erectile Disfunction or other male health care issues.

I am so upset right now.

The text of the amendment:

The amendment will prohibit federal funds for abortion services in the public option. It also prohibits individuals who receive affordability credits from purchasing a plan that provides elective abortions. However, it allows individuals, both who receive affordability credits and who do not, to separately purchase with their own funds plans that cover elective abortions. It also clarifies that private plans may still offer elective abortions.

There is a lot more about this amendment and this bill (the influence of the Catholic church, the "move towards the right," the abysmal behavior of Republican male representatives during speeches by their female Democratic colleagues yesterday, the fear mongering by the right). Anyone who wants to talk about it, let me know. I need to blow off some steam, and I need to talk to people about it.

Cross posted at lj. There are some other comments there.

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PolyBigBang - Bodies at Rest (Blade Runner Mix)

2009-10-29T04:33:46Z

Title: Bodies at Rest
Fandom: Blade Runner
Subject: Decker/Rachel/Gaff
Notes: Created for the 2009 polybigbang. This is a companion mix to kittydesade's gorgeous fic of the same name. Part 1 | Part 2

( Bodies at Rest : a ficmix for kittydesade in the 2009 polybigbang )

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epporsimuove @ 2009-10-13T15:34:00

2009-10-13T19:43:53Z

Yesterday marked the 11 year anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard. For those who don't know, Matthew Shepard was a college student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. On October 6, 1998, Matthew Shepard was taken from a local bar, tied to a fence post, beaten with a gun, and left to die. The next day, he was found and rushed to the hospital. Six days later, Matthew Shepard died without ever regaining consciousness. Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Project went to Laramie in the days and months following Matthew Shepard's murder to interview the residents of the town. These interviews were turned into a play, and later an HBO miniseries, entitled The Laramie Project.

I was eight when Matthew Shepard died. I don't remember much; I think I saw the candlelight vigil on television, but I could just be incorporating what I know now into my memories of then. However, I discovered The Laramie Project in high school and have been touched by Matthew's story ever since.

Last night on the eleventh anniversary of Matthew's death, a reading of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later was performed in 130 theatres nationwide. The play follows the Tectonic Theatre Company as they return to Laramie ten years later. It deals with the disasterous 2004 20/20 special about the murder which claimed Matthew's death was not fueled by homophobia, but by drugs; the election of Wyoming's first openly gay state legislature and her experiences with the defense of marriage resolution in Wyoming; the impact of the murder on the town, specifically the university; and Judy Shepard's activism.

I saw the reading at the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati. The entire reading was superb, but there were three moments that vividly stood out to me. First was the recounting of the debate in the Wyoming House regarding the defense of marriage proposal. While the debate began with no hope of defeating the bill and with a Republican congressman arguing that children from married homes with one man and one woman grow up happier, better behaved, smarter, etc...(same bull we have heard before), the tone changed as two Republicans then gave speeches opposing the bill. The first talked about his gay daughter, and how he could not vote for a bill that made her less of a person than she is. The second began "We are the state of Matthew Shepard and Brokeback Mountain, but we are also the state of the first female legislature..." Both were amazing inclusions into the show. (BTW: The bill was defeated 35-25).

The second moment began the second act, an interview with Russell Henderson, one of Matthew Shepard's murderers. Russell genuinely seems full of remorse. Our understanding of the murder is that Henderson was following Aaron McKinney. This does not excuse what Henderson did, not at all. However, you do walk away feeling sorry for him and wondering where exactly we went wrong that he got caught up in something like this.

Aaron McKinney is also interviewed in the piece. He comes off decidedly less well that Henderson. McKinney's changing story (from homophobia to drugs to robbery) constantly comes off as fake. He is interested in the Nazis, and, while he would like to goes to Germany, admits that he could be arrested for some of his tattoos while there (swastikas on his arms and NAZI written in Old English type on his lower back). McKinney's interview gives the impression that he is beyond hope. He is someone you want locked away.

The third moment in the play is Judy Shepard's interview with the company. She talks about why she transformed from a very private person at the trial to the public figure she now is with her activism work. She talks about her family's decision to request the removal of the death penalty in McKinney's sentencing. Perhaps most powerfully, Judy Shepard talks about the hopelessness she feels in some of the activism work. Ten years later, she says, and we still don't have a hate crimes bill passed.

Overall, this new epilogue for The Laramie Project is very powerful. I feel lucky to have seen it. It reminds us for the need for something to be done, whether that is hate crimes legislation or something different. Don't forget, homophobic hate crimes did not end with Matthew Shepard. Last year alone there were over 1400 hate crimes against sexual minorities. Something must be done.

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epporsimuove @ 2009-10-01T14:50:00

2009-10-01T18:58:29Z

I am thinking of starting a blog dealing specifically with feminism. Anyone have any naming suggestions?

I would be dealing with a bunch of different issue, but with a large focus on pop culture and stupid politicians (they are both so entertaining!). So, what should I call it?

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