Anamata's Back!

And she's kicking ass. Seriously:
And if mental illness really is illness, why is it treated the way it is? Those who must live out their lives with missing limbs or in wheelchairs experience discrimination, unwanted pity, and diminished expectations, but they are at least seen as having a legitimate illness. The attitude towards those with mental illness is both that the words and ideas of those who are mentally ill is to be utterly disregarded, but also that if they would just shape up and snap out of it, they would no longer be ill - that the illness is a character flaw on their part. While some people may have compassion for the physically ill, the mentally ill are regarded as deliberate malingerers and a waste of resources, and the only debate seems to be about how to handle such difficult people so they irritate the rest of us the least. Little is said about how to distinguish a mere rebel from a person who legitimately is out of control and needs help to have a happy life.

Go read the whole thing.

OJ: "How I Would have killed my wife."

I was reading through my blogroll and came across this:

As everyone probably already knows, Fox news is planning to run a disgusting interview with OJ Simpson about his book, "If I Did It", that talks about how he "would have killed his wife if he had done it".

This is beyond outrageous. We should pay to listen to a murderer fantasize about how he'd kill his wife, given another chance? He's still thinking about ways he could have killed her? This is beyond sick. It must be his favorite topic to ruminate upon.

PLEASE sign the internet petition to stop this digusting display of murder-glorification. It's insanity. It's beyond the pale. It has got to be stopped. Don't let OJ make money off what he did to Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

Please go and sign the petition. This is just so disgusting, I can't even come up with words to describe it.

hat tip: TxFeminist

Update: Book cancelled.

Quote: "I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project," said Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman. "We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson." Well at least Murdoch listens to public opinion.

2 feminist posts, 1 environmental. Guess I'm back

Help stop destruction like this:


Here's something I recieved from a good friend. It is very important that you contact the governor of Tennessee as it is so beautiful down there, and this strip mining is ruining the land and threatens the health of the locals. It's my old stomping ground and I can't describe to you how beautiful it is there. Pictures and more info can be found here. It's just an email, you can do it.

**PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, EMAIL ADDRESSES, LISTSERVES, MYSPACE
BULLETIN BOARDS, IMC'S, RADIO SHOWS, MEDIA CONTACTS,
EVERYONE YOU CAN**

If you love mountains please contact the Governor of Tennessee!
phil.bredesen@state.tn.us

WE ARE ABOUT TO KILL STRIP MINING FOR COAL IN TENNESSEE !!

The tide is turning! This is it. We can kill strip mining for
coal in Tennessee for good with your help. This is for all the
marbles. In the last year the entire tone of the campaign against
strip mining has shifted; the strip mine companies are on the
defensive. Now it's time for a knock out punch.

United Mountain Defense and its attorneys recently helped members
of the Tennessee Student Legislature draft a bill which out and
out bans strip mining for coal in the State of Tennessee no 'ifs', 'ands'
or 'buts' a flat out abolishment of the practice known
as strip mining for coal. We are not asking for less strip mining, or
kinder gentler strip mining we are demanding the permanent
abolishment of this horrendous attack on Tennessee's jobs, environment
and culture.

1. This bill was passed by the Tennessee Student Legislature and
now is being passed to Governor Bredesen's desk. Yes, Gov. Bredesen will
read our bill to ban strip mining in Tennessee! After a
week or so there, the bill will be introduced and debated by
the Tennessee General Assembly. If it becomes law all strip mining for
coal in the state of Tennessee will be forbidden by statute.


If you don't know what strip mining is doing to the Appalachians,
you are fortunate. It is an ongoing ecological, social and cultural
disaster of literally geologic proportions. Entire mountains
are being blown up, highland watersheds are being buried forever
and the most diverse habitat in the world is being destroyed
for short term greed. For more information and pictures of the
destruction go to: unitedmountaindefense.org.

Needless to say, we need your help now more than ever. We need
folks to call, email, write, fax, talk to, petition, fly planes
with banners' to contact Governor Bredesen in every way possible
and to express support for this bill.

Please be polite! Governor Bredesen has sent clear signals that
he is not happy with the strip mining for coal happening in our
beautiful state, as has our General Assembly. This is about numbers of
supporters for this bill; it is not an adversarial approach.

After the bill leaves Bredesen's desk and goes to General Assembly,
then we go to step 2: begin calling and emailing the General
Assembly to urge their support for this bill.

Do not be afraid to hit the economics argument first, foremost
and head on in this call in campaign. We have a point by point,
state by state, county by county refutation of any argument that
strip mining creates jobs. Check the citations. State data and
data from the mining industry itself shows that wherever strip
mining has reared its head, mining jobs have plummeted.


In Tennessee that's especially ironic when our number one employer
is tourism. Mining is not even in the top 10. So don't be afraid!
The economic, social and environmental data is all on our side
against strip mining here in Tennessee .

And as the bill makes its way through our Assembly you can bet
the Assemblies of other states will be watching (and hearing)
about what Tennessee is doing. In the 70's, it was Tennessee
that dealt the final blow through legislation to the so called
'broad form deed' which provided much of the momentum for strip
mining then. We hope to repeat history. After Tennessee takes
this step, other states must take the idea more seriously. If
we can get Tennessee to do the right thing for its own economic,
social and environmental interest (and for its people) other
states will come around.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Don't send us money! How's that for an
argument from an environmental group? Right now we need your
voices to be heard in support for this bill. Once during our
campaign against a road in Tennessee, we got over 45,000 comments
in opposition to it we need that again. This is purely about
numbers. We need everyone: SEAC, NPCA, the Sierra Club, Earth
Justice, OHVEC, App Voices, SELC, the Appalachian Center for
the Economy and the Environment, GreenPeace, SOCM, TCWP, CRMW,
Mountain Justice Summer, EVERYONE to make this a priority. And
of course the coal industry is going to freak out at this overt
offensive against their destruction of our mountains.

For the Mountains!

Call the Governor?s ethics hotline toll free at toll-free: 1-866-442-9025
http://www.state.tn.us/governor/Ethics.do

Governor's Office Tennessee State Capitol Nashville, TN 37243-0001

Phone: 615.741.2001 Fax: 615.532.9711
Email: phil.bredesen@state.tn.us

http://www.state.tn.us/governor/Welcome.do

Visit Bredesen personally!

Join United Mountain Defense info list.

Other things you can do to help save Tennessee 's Mountains.

Email united mountain defense AT yahoo DOT com if you can help, have
any questions, or if you could forward your comments and what
you get back to us.

For the Mountains!
Here is a bare bones copy of the bill.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 59-8-205 is amended
by adding the following language as subsection (d):

(d) No permit shall be issued for a surface mine utilized for
the purpose of coal mining in the state of Tennessee.

SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 69-3-107 is amended
by adding the following language as an appropriately designated
subsection:

() The Commissioner shall not have the authority to issue a
permit to an activity prohibited in Tennessee Code Annotated,
Section 59-8-205(d).

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming law, the
public welfare requiring it.
Here is more context.
Here's what the news below means. College student government
members
from across Tennessee passed legislation banning strip mining
that will go to the desk of governor Bredesen and possibly to
the Tennessee state
legislature to be made into law. Thanks to Chris Irwin and Gena
Lewis
for drafting the anti-strip mining bills for us. There will
be massive
lobbying for this later so keep your eyes open and tell everyone
you can to support this. We are potentially on the verge of banning strip
mining in
Tennessee.
Woo-hoo!

Members of Tennessee Alumni & Students for Sustainable Campuses
(TASSC) were busy in Nashville this past weekend at the 2006 Tennessee
Intercollegiate State Legislature (TISL). At this annual mock-congress
convergence, student leaders from across the state convene to
write, debate, and pass legislation just like the actual state
legislature. Bills that are passed through both the House and
Senate of TISL are ultimately presented to Governor Bredesen
for review.

Members of TASSC wrote and sponsored a total of seven bills,
four of which were successfully passed:
+ Ban on surface mining for coal in Tennessee

Myspace profile

UNITED MOUNTAIN DEFENSE!

join our list

Check the Global Warming Blog


Please call/email/visit! This is huge and will hopefully affect the rest of the Appalachians, because they are right now being destroyed. One of the most beautiful and diverse ecosystems on the east coast of the US is being devestated and destroyed. More infor about Southern Appalachia can be found here.

Quanto Winners

Check them out (link in title of post), here are some samples:










(also available in my Flickr pool

Some thoughts on strip clubs

The impeccable Reclusive Leftist wrote a post that ended with this question:
Wouldn’t it be great if all the feminist battle units could lay down arms, abandon their entrenched rhetorical positions, and start talking afresh on what we know, what we can agree on, and how we might work together to help the sex workers who are out there on the front lines getting battered daily by johns and pervs and pimps?

Because many of us involved with the porn wars know, is that we sometimes get painted with being anti-sex worker because we're anti-sex WORK. (Work does not equal worker, btw.) Which is patently untrue.

I know that in my case I am not only a radical feminist, but I am also a delegate for the Industrial Workers of the World. While it is a radical union, it is not the bastion of forward thinking and equality that one would hope for, so when I proclaim that I am a feminist (loudly and often) I am asked what I think of the workers at the Lusty Lady who unionised, and if I am against unionisation of strip clubs because I am against strip clubs. Well, that's oversimplifying and is pure and utter bullshit. The answer I give that seems to be etched into my memory now is that I am all for unionising strip clubs. They are horrible, degrading, and often dangerous places to work (for reasons mentioned by a stripper at Violet's post that's linked above). I want the workers to be able to make them the best and safest place that they possibly can (which is still scary given the way the customers view women), but that this is only one small step. Like the ideas of the IWW I want to get rid of the bosses and only have worker collectives. Well, we can't make that happen overnight, so a union is a way to help put more control in the workers hands, for now. The IWW is not satisfied with just unions as I am not satisfied with replacing strip clubs with unionised strip clubs. Yes, one is better then the other. Yes, sex workers are workers, and ones who work in a very dangerous environment that they should be able to make some rules and make their experience better. So for now, I am all in favour of unionisation. But that's only for right now. I imagine a world without strip clubs, where women are no longer the sex class.

Which brings me to other questions. Who would want to salt a place like that? (Salting is where you get union members hired into a job that you are trying to unionise.) I (years ago) thought about it, but I've definitely healed past that point and can't shield myself from the degredation and humiliation any more. (Thank god. I am done dissociating. NO MORE.) Seriously, I have little problem finding people interested in salting Starbucks, but I couldn't imagine asking any woman to salt a strip club. I'd even salt at (*retch*) Starfuckerbucks, but it's different. I can't imagine asking a woman to go through that for the good of a union.

ALSO: Because I've met many men who seem to think that going to a unionised strip club is better then a "regular" strip club: you're all misogynist bastards. Don't go to strip clubs. Try this on for size: see women as something more then a masturbatory tool. They are human, just like you (I know some of you can't believe that.) See them as your equal. Try that instead of a strip club. It's much more fulfilling.

What a Week

This just about sums it up.

Everybody makes mistakes
but i feel alright when i come undone
you are not making me wait
but it seems alright as long as something's happening
i try to make you late
but you fighting me off like a fire does
you try making me wait
but it feels alright as long as something's happening

get your payments from the nation
for your trials and tribulations

you try to make me wait
you come around when it's come undone
everybody makes you late
and it's never you because you're always thinking
i try making you wait
and give you me some like you give it good
everybody makes mistakes
but it seems it's mine that always keep on stinging

get your payments from the nation
for your trials and tribulations
x2

you try making me wait
but you come undone when you come undone
everybody makes mistakes
but it's always mine that seem to keep on sticking

get your payments from the nation
for your trials and tribulations
x5
Tribulations by LCD Soundsystem (It's one of my favourite songs)

Though I'm 99.999999% sure I just aced my math quiz! WOOT! (I'll tell you all about why my car was left in Tacoma this weekend, etc later. Let's say baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad week.)

Do they make a patch for this?

Seriously. I go on quiz binges. It's not good.

Which Twin Peaks character are you?

You're Agent Albert Rosenfield, the snide and superior forensics expert. Your tongue is sharper than your scalpel, and it doesn't take long for people to start hating you for your supercilious quips, but you are the very best at what you do. You don't suffer fools gladly, but you give respect when it's due. In fact, you're a good guy at heart, but so wedded to your sarcasm that you can rarely stand to treat people kindly. Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Awesome

You are The Star

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised

The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Courtesy of the fantabulous Laura

But I found another one that says "Destroyer of patriarchy":

Sekhmet Observant, authoritative, indulgent, moral and witty. Colors: male: green, female: turquoise Compatible Signs: Bastet, Geb Dates: July 29 - Aug 11, Oct 30 - Nov 7 Role: Goddess of war and vengeance Appearance: Lion-headed woman with the sun over her head Sacred Animal: lion What is Your Egyptian Zodiac Sign? Designed by CyberWarlock of Warlock's Quizzles and Quandaries

BPD

Because I once again have blown a friendship because of my chaotic and unstable behaviour I am giving you a refresher on what those of us with Borderline Personality Disorder experience:

-Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment
-A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation
-Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self
-Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating)
-Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior
-Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)
-Chronic feelings of emptiness
-Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)
-Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms

It's not an excuse, but please those of you who know me, take this into consideration as I just can't deal with losing one more loved one due to my brain disorder.

Seriously, it takes me by surprise as much as you. I've been trying to contain it, controll it, all my life. Sometimes I'm doing just fine and then *BOOM* I spin out of control in a matter of minutes for god knows what reason. I can't predict it, I can't control it, and I certainly am failing miserably at dealing with it (at least when other people are involved). I'm trying my hardest everyday. I can't control the mood swings, the intense changes in behaviour. I wish I could, I really do. I'm so sick of feeling broken whenever my BPD flares up.

I'm dealing with it one moment at a time.

It's all anyone can really do.

Also: It's good to note that since I suffered abuse all my childhood my immediate reaction to a threatening situation is to run away, whether by dissociating or distance.

I always try and keep this stuff in mind when dealing with my friends; all I'm asking is that you all try to keep it in mind to if a friend of yours suffers from BPD (or PTSD, same symptoms in a lot of ways. Luckily I have both!). I guess that why my exroomie Christy and I are best friends. We both have BPD and PTSD. We get each other, we understand the craziness. But having friends who only have BPD or PTSd is somewhat limiting.

To everyone of my friends that has experienced this: I'm working on it, I really am. I apologise if I made you feel like shit. It's never my intention to hurt the people that I love. If I've shut down on you, well, that just happens. It's how my brain responds to stress.

I HATE YOU!

I really, really do.

Grrrrrrrrr..............

US Residents

Remember to vote!

I don't know how to feel about this?

Brad Will murdered in Oaxaca

Some may recognise the name from my blog against Sexual Violence day post. One of my abusers, who acted in a predatory manner towards so many women in the activist community in the US on both coasts is dead, and I keep recieving all the emails from the activist community all angry and sad, yet I just want to respond with how much of a sexual predator and abuser he was. But as yet I've held my tongue. I've been sitting on this for a week, wanting to blog it, wanting to cheer that this bastard is dead, wanting to mourn the death of an activist, but to me you cannot affect change while being a misogynist fuck. Or by being racist/homophobic/classist/etc. Though I haven't sent that email back to the list, I am telling you all in blogoland about this, and a search looking for Brad Will might bring people here, but then again it might have brought them here before. Yes it is sad someone doing good work was killed, but think of all the women he cannot terrorise now. All the women who will remain in the activist scene, not being chased off by the predator. Reading all about how great he was just makes me sick to my stomach, because for many of us women, he was horrible. No more glorifying the dead. Fuck it.

I've been having many dreams lately that have to do with my past in NYC, my past that included Brad. I can't say that they've done anything to help my PTSD, but at least in my concious mind I know that he cannot hurt me or anyone else anymore. That at an activist gathering I no longer need to have that awkward conversation with a bunch of men who think he's great about how he's a sexual predator. No more being approached by other women to go to the group and ask that Brad be asked to leave. No more.

So why isn't it over for me yet?

PS: Joida's back. Go say hi.

Cat blogging has been suspended for the week

Want to see kitties? Check out their web pages:
Mischief
Logan
Wolverine

New Favourite blog

They thought we were extinct

More Frivolous Weekend Blogging

Memememememe

DO YOU SNORE?
Occasionally...I have an eternally stuffed up nose, but not as bad as certain people *cough*ex-possible unicorn*cough*

ARE YOU A LOVER OR A FIGHTER?
Both.

AS A KID, WERE YOU A LEGO MANIAC?
Lincoln Logs and building blocks were more my speed, but I liked legos ok.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF “REALITY” TV?
Unless it's So You Think You Can Dance I hate it. (A WCS (west coast swing) dancer won! Go Benji!! WOOT!! I do WCS, btw.)

DO YOU CHEW ON YOUR STRAWS?
I chew on almost anything.

WERE YOU A CUTE BABY?
Is there a such thing as a cute baby?

IS THE SINGLE LIFE FOR YOU?
Spinster in training, yo.

WHAT COLOR IS YOUR KEYBOARD?
Silver. Go IntelMac

DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER?
I sing everywhere.

HAVE YOU EVER BUNGEE JUMPED?
No.

ANY SECRET TALENTS?
I'll never tell.

WHAT’S YOUR IDEAL VACATION SPOT?
Herland

CAN YOU SWIM?
Competing since the age of 7, and currently playing water polo.

HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOVIE DONNIE DARKO?
I own it.

DO YOU GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE OZONE?
Well what kind of Earth First!er would I be if I didn't?

HOW MANY LICKS DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO THE CENTER OF A TOOTSIE POP?
3.

CAN YOU SING THE ALPHABET BACKWARDS?
No. Only people who plan to drive drunk learn how to do that.

DO YOU PREFER ELECTRIC OR MANUAL PENCIL SHARPENER?
I prefer mechanical pencils, mostly because there are no sharpeners anywhere on campus. (Or at leat ones that work)

WHAT’S YOUR STAND ON HUNTING?
I'll give hunters a 10 minute head start...but I assume you mean animals and I am firmly against it.

IS MARRIAGE IN YOUR FUTURE?
SPINSTER IN TRAINING. Do I need to spell it our for you?

DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Sometimes

WHAT ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO?
Dogs, mold, mushrooms, and a bunch of other crap I don't know about.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAID, “I LOVE YOU” ?
To my cat? 10 minutes ago.

DO YOU CRY AT WEDDINGS?
No.

HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS?
Poached in red wine.

ARE BLONDES DUMB?
No.

WHERE DOES THE OTHER SOCK END UP?
Magic sock land.

WHAT TIME IS IT?
12:04...time for the Daily Show!

DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME?
which one?

IS MCDONALD’S DISGUSTING?
I can't believe people call that food.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE IN A CAR?
An hour ago, coming home from water polo.

DO YOU PREFER BATHS OR SHOWERS?
Baths. So if anyone wants to get me a bathtub or teach me how to install one I'll love you forever.

IS SANTA CLAUS REAL?
Sandy Claws? Of course, haven't you ever been to Christmasland?

DO YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR NECK KISSED?
mmmm hmmm

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?
Only after watching Ringu.

WHAT ARE YOU ADDICTED TO?
cats, blogs, math, Buffy, Veronica Mars, the Sims 2, Kevin Spacey, comic books with teenage girls with superpowers, chocolate, alone time, BOOKS, old time radio shows

CRUNCHY OR CREAMY PEANUT BUTTER?
Creamy.

CAN YOU CRACK YOUR NECK?
Only when I'm starting to get muscle spasms in it.

HAVE YOU EVER RIDDEN IN AN AMBULANCE?
yes

IS DRUG FREE THE WAY TO BE?
i don't do them, but I did and I know some people like them. So....to each their own.

ARE YOU A HEAVY SLEEPER?
Sometimes, like this past weekend.

WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR EYES?
Red. Water Polo practice.

DO YOU LIKE YOUR LIFE?
Sometimes. Now, yes. My PTSD, no.

ARE YOU PSYCHIC?
I'm a good sender.

HAVE YOU READ CATCHER IN THE RYE?
No.

DO YOU PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS?
Alto Sax and washboard. But play may be too loose a term for these: banjo, washtub bass, and accordion.

HAVE YOU EVER STOLEN MONEY?
When I was younger. From my parents.

CAN YOU SNOWBOARD?
No. I don't get it. Now sledding is something I can get behind.

DO YOU LIKE CAMPING?
I lived in a tree for months, what do you think?

DO YOU SNORT WHEN YOU LAUGH?
No.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?
In a young girl's heart.

ARE DOGS A MAN’S BEST FRIEND?
Cats.

YOU BELIEVE IN DIVORCE?
I have to save Clare's line b/c it was so damn good: It's not the fucking tooth fairy, is it?

CAN YOU DO THE MOONWALK?
I haven't tried it since high school, so I don't know.

DO YOU MAKE A LOT OF MISTAKES?
Everything I do is part of the master plan.

IS IT COLD OUTSIDE TODAY?
Kind of, but I have all the windows open. It's nice. I like it cold.

WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
String cheese.

DO YOU WEAR NAIL POLISH?
Sometimes.

HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU LIKE RIGHT NOW?
A few.

WHAT’S THE MOST ANNOYING TV COMMERCIAL?
I have to pick just one???? How about all.

DO YOU SHOP AT AMERICAN EAGLE?
Where do you find that at? The mall?

FAVORITE SONG AT THE MOMENT?
Oh god, just one? "Work Song" by Nina Simone

WHAT’S YOUR WORST FEAR?
that the world will never change.

Only Men can stop rape.

from: I'm Not a Feminist, But

A lot has been said about how to prevent rape. Women should learn self-defense. Women should lock themselves in their houses after dark. Women shouldn't have long hair and women shouldn't wear short skirts. Women shouldn't leave drinks unattended. Hell, they shouldn't dare to get drunk at all. Instead of that bullshit, how about:

If a woman is drunk, don't rape her.
If a woman is walking alone at night, don't rape her.
If a woman is drugged and unconscious, don't rape her.
If a woman is wearing a short skirt, don't rape her.
If a woman is jogging in a park at 5 am, don't rape her.
If a woman looks like your ex-girlfriend you're still hung up on, don't rape her.
If a woman is asleep in her bed, don't rape her.
If a woman is asleep in your bed, don't rape her.
If a woman is doing her laundry, don't rape her.
If a woman is in a coma, don't rape her.
If a woman changes her mind in the middle of or about a particular activity, don't rape her.
If a woman has repeatedly refused a certain activity, don't rape her.
If a woman is not yet a woman, but a child, don't rape her.
If your girlfriend or wife is not in the mood, don't rape her.
If your step-daughter is watching TV, don't rape her.
If you break into a house and find a woman there, don't rape her.
If your friend thinks it's okay to rape someone, tell him it's not, and that he's not your friend.
If your "friend" tells you he raped someone, report him to the police.
If your frat-brother or another guy at the party tells you there's an unconscious woman upstairs and it's your turn, don't rape her, call the police and tell the guy he's a rapist.
Tell your sons, god-sons, nephews, grandsons, sons of friends it's not okay to rape someone.
Don't tell your women friends how to be safe and avoid rape.
Don't imply that she could have avoided it if she'd only done/not done x.
Don't imply that it's in any way her fault.
Don't let silence imply agreement when someone tells you he "got some" with the drunk girl.
Don't perpetuate a culture that tells you that you have no control over or responsibility for your actions. You can, too, help yourself.

If you agree, re-post it. It's that important.

-Author unknown.

Oh Canada...

Our home and native land. You kick ass. Seriously. In the past week, two different parts in the Anti-Terrorism Acts passed after 9/11 were struck down by two different courts because they violated Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The first were three provisions of the Security of Information Act challenged after the RCMP used it to secure search warrants for a reporter's home. A little recap:
In her ruling Thursday, Justice Lynn Ratushny said all three provisions are unconstitutionally vague and overly broad, violating the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantee of fundamental justice.

Ratushny also said the sections contravened the constitutional right of press freedom.

"They have not been well-tailored to suit their purpose . . . they arbitrarily and unfairly and with a blunt club of criminal sanction restrict freedom of expression, including freedom of the press," the ruling said.

David Paciocco, a lawyer for O'Neill, said the judgment was "a powerful reaffirmation of how central the role of the media is in protecting democracy."

HA! She was reporting on someone who had been deported by the US to Syria and then tortured into confessing ties to the al-Qaida network. But of course the cops go after the reporter, but fortunately it is not 1984 yet in Canada. Wish I could say the same about the US.

The three provisions of the Security of Information Act struck down Thursday by the Ontario Superior Court:

-4. (1) Every person is guilty of an offence under this Act who, having in his possession or control any secret official code word, password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information that relates to or is used in a prohibited place or anything in a prohibited place, or that has been made or obtained in contravention of this Act, or that has been entrusted in confidence to him by any person holding office under Her Majesty, or that he has obtained or to which he has had access while subject to the Code of Service Discipline within the meaning of the National Defence Act or owing to his position as a person who holds or has held office under Her Majesty, or as a person who holds or has held a contract made on behalf of Her Majesty, or a contract the performance of which in whole or in part is carried out in a prohibited place, or as a person who is or has been employed under a person who holds or has held such an office or contract,

(a) communicates the code word, password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information to any person, other than a person to whom he is authorized to communicate with, or a person to whom it is in the interest of the State his duty to communicate it . . .

-4. (3) Every person who receives any secret official code word, password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information, knowing, or having reasonable ground to believe, at the time he receives it, that the code word, password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information is communicated to him in contravention of this Act, is guilty of an offence under this Act, unless he proves that the communication to him of the code word, password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information was contrary to his desire.

-4. (4) (b) Every person is guilty of an offence under this Act who: allows any other person to have possession of any official document issued for his use alone, or communicates any secret official code word or password so issued, or, without lawful authority or excuse, has in his possession any official document or secret official code word or password issued for the use of a person other than himself, or on obtaining possession of any official document by finding or otherwise, neglects or fails to restore it to the person or authority by whom or for whose use it was issued, or to a police constable.
(read the full article here.)

The second struck down a clause in the Anti-Terrorism Act. The part it struck down was the idea of motive. Because a lot of the 'anti-terror' arrests are made on potential ideological motive this would change the way that the law was enforced. The judge sums it up succinctly: "While the hate motive may be an aggravating factor at sentencing, in the traditional criminal law, motive — the reasons 'why' someone commits a criminal act — neither establishes nor excuses a crime." While some people are talking about how this will not affect arrests or charges I believe it will have a big impact on racial and religious profiling, making it impossible to arrest someone merely because they are muslim, etc. I'm so happy at Canada's judges right now (this is the first terror related arrest to make it to trial). You can read the entire article here.

Hey my friend made a movie for the 48 hour film contest. Mike Jackson / Steam Powered Films. (You may recognise him as the guy who's butt I kicked in the pillow fight pictures that i posted about here.)

Enjoy. Oh and you can vote too.

*sniff sniff*

*sniff sniff*
Originally uploaded by union_clown.

I couldn't forget kitty blogging. No matter how out of it I am, I can never forget kitty blogging.

Temporary problems

My zoloft got put up to 150 mg, and it caused a mixed manic state. I am not excited about it at all. So I have a medical leave from classes for the rest of the week including one test and one quiz tommorrow, but it's all moot I'd flunk them anyway because I have been in a fog for the past week and a half. I feel so much for people who are bipolar that have these states often. I definitely like my depression and anxiety seperate. So we're going to gradually reduce my dose and hope that that fixes the problem, because the zoloft was doing sort of good for me before this. Now I'm off to bed (have slept most of the day b/c I was taking my Xanax.)

I'll be back when my brain starts working again.

I WIN!!!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Reading assignment

Who needs a brain when you have these? (Abercrombie and Fitch shirt...do they ever stop with the insults?)

The disrespectful, degrading, contemptuous treatment of women is so pervasive and so mainstream that it has just about lost its ability to shock. Guys at sporting events and other public venues have shown no qualms about raising an insistent chant to nearby women to show their breasts. An ad for a major long-distance telephone carrier shows three apparently naked women holding a billing statement from a competitor. The text asks, “When was the last time you got screwed?”

Who said that important things can't be said on youtube?

The thing they all have in common is the beauty myth. The first and third videos are teenage girls talking about their lives and the second is a really interesting ad. Enjoy, I did.

More Fun Blogging

I kick SO much ass. I was fooling around with some quizzes and I got these results:

Which X-Men character are you most like?

You are Rogue!You are sexy and strong willed, and able to take on just about anyone. You long for a serious relationship, but whenever you begin to get close to someone things always seem to take turns for the worse. But you have dealt with this lack of closeness with an almost constant flirtacious behavior. Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

You scored as Wolverine. Wolverine is a loner, and a skilled fighter. He's got the hots for Jean Grey but a better fit for him would be Storm. He doesn't like to follow orders which pisses Cyclops off. He has terrible memories from the experimentation done on him at Weapon X. Even though he doesn't show it, he loves the X-Men. Powers: Fast healing and adamantium skeleton and claws.

Most Comprehensive X-Men Personality Quiz 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

HA! HahahahhahahahHHHAAAAhahahaHa!

Friday Fun Blogging

Best shot ever
Originally uploaded by union_clown.

My little boy Logan is soooooooo cute. This was his first time outside.

If you run a mac, and love old radio shows (i.e. theatre/radio series) Then you MUST get this widget. I have been listening to it for hours. I love this thing so much. All these undiscovered (by me) radio serials with lovely period music in between shows. Ohhh...gotta go, Glenn Miller!

Because I'm lazy...Girls Gone Wild

(and mainly because I don't want to create a login name, etc) I am responding here to the plea for help in the comments of my last post.

There seems to be a discussion going on here discussing Levy's Female Chauvinist Pigs.

I'll respond to some of the comments that struck my eye as I go along.

I get sick of "feminists" trying to say that there's essentially one way to be a woman. If we're going to say that women are free to be, do, say, think whatever they want, then that also includes being a "girl gone wild" as well as a Senator or CEO.

See, I have never said that. I know very few feminists that say that. I know rad fems who are spinsters and ones who are stay at home moms. I am so sick of hearing about how feminists tell women what they should do with their life. We don't even tell people to stop watching porn: we tell them that porn is harmful to women, give them evidence and examples, and hope upon hope that they will stop. (Every thinking person should be able to see that easily once awoken to the problems inherent in porn.)

This isn't true. There's a whole movement afoot among feminists who are distressed that educated women are leaving their careers in favor of staying home with their children. It's been said that these educated career women are doing a disservice to the femininst movement and are disrespecting those who came before.

Ok, who's saying this? I'm one of those "crazy" radicals, and I think that staying at home with kids is a noble cause. I want women (and men) to be compensated for staying home. They do as much work as anyone else and deserve to be paid. I'm not alone in this belief. (Especially among radical feminists.)

The last thing I expected this thread to be about was things like Girls Gone Wild. I view that as a sign of how hedonistic our society has become.

What did come into my head when I saw your title is women who have a low view of men. Women who treat their men like children. Women who expect certain treatment from their men but don't reciprocate. Women who want their freedom and choices but don't allow men theirs. There are a lot of them out there.

You're right, we want to be treated with respect and we're the horrible oppressors. Just look at how much freedom we have in this society!
Freedom to walk alone at night, freedom to have friends and acquaintences over without fear, freedom to be safe in our own home, freedom to earn pay equal to our skills, freedom to make laws that benefit our sex, freedom to choose, freedom to wear whatever we want and not be seen as pornography, freedom to be treated as an equal human being, freedom to go out alone and not be "asking for it", freedom from harrassment, freedom to be oblivious to our surroundings, freedom to walk away from a family without repercussions/actually being held accountable for repercussions......(you get the point.)

Oh wait! That's the freedom that MEN have that women don't! Shit! So, who's oppressing who here?

One of the examples give was that "...We are not pursuing the confident, self-determined, powerful, free ideal the women’s liberation movement would have dreamed for its daughters. Instead, our icons are porn stars and strippers and prostitutes. Paris Hilton and Jenna Jameson flaunt their successes in the pornography industry, and in doing so seem to earn our adulation."


Well perhaps when they stop selling the sleazy clothes and those whorish looking dolls for girls we won't have anymore Paris Hiltons!!

Actually it has more to do then just selling clothes. It's about what young women are taught by the media and their peers. They (as I was) are taught that women's worth is in how much sex appeal they have to men. The women and girls who appear in things like Girls Gone Wild have been taught this. Even women who don't flash a camera for male attention and approval are taught this. The fact is that now women are not valued for their ability to do anything. they are valued for their looks, and things like Girls Gone Wild understands and exploits this. The girls are compensated for becoming pornography by being given a hat or t-shirt that tells the men who weren't there they they are hip, with it, and most of all that they have bought in to the patriarchal ideal that women are pornography.

The effects of which not only affect these women, but the college age men (and younger) who believe that deep down every girl or woman who eschews the idea of being walking pornography really wants it.

And that's the heart of the matter.

The idea that men's exploitation, abuse, and oppression of women turns any of us, even the ones fighting against it, into their idea of who we are and what our real wants are. Say no? Well that guy thinks that you're just playing hard to get and really mean yes. What do we call this? Why is it any different then the ideas that push things like Girls Gone Wild on us? Because really that's what it boils down to. Men's beliefs in who we are and how we should act, which is always incredibly self serving.

What we are seeing is women exercising their sexual freedom.

I disagree with this. I think women are being exploited sexually more now than ever before, and it has nothing to do with sexual freedom but everything to do with the media portray of women's sexual freedoms. (somehow I don't think that makes sense as I've written it, but it makes sense in my head ). I'm saddened by how some women are being exploited and demeaned by the "still-male-dominated" corporate and media machine.

The women's lib movement was all about gaining the right of women to choose. Whatever path a woman takes in her life is OK - as long as she is legitimately making a free choice to do so. Anything short of that is a failure of the movement. As someone said "Stay at home mom or executive, saint or slut" - there are choices, but I still do not believe that women have suffient support systems out there - including support from other women who have made other choices - for us to be considered truly "liberated". Frankly, I think there is still a battle or two to be fought before we really win the women's rights war.

HALLELUJAH!! See I'm not alone. If women had true sexual freedom they would be able to express it in their own ways: not the ways that men have proscribed as women's sexuality. But alas, we aren't free. We have to operate within the patriarchal definition of sexuality, which (suprise, suprise) discounts women as beings with sexual agency, but as masturabatory material for men.

(Remeber, especially if you're coming from that forum that I'm talking about men as a group and that individual men can and do buck the patriarchal system.)

And here we get to the point

“If I get my dick in you, you lose.” -thelmyc in the comments at Twisty's.

Really I don't know what to say, except, for most men this is true. I don't understand it and I'll never understand it, but I still need to ask why? How can you think that? How can you live life like that? What is wrong with you?

We'll never know, but I hope feminism stops this thinking dead in it's tracks and makes it an unfortunate "comma"* in the history of the world.


(Bush said that in the history books Iraq will be nothing but a comma. It's a funny.)

From the "But I didn't know it was a crime" files

BC Teacher arrested in child porn scandal.

Video here where he admits that he downloaded the child porn images and that he "didn't know it was a crime." Because obviously only the western world is so sex-phobic that we are the only nations without child pornography laws. But no, unlike our horrible country, Turkey's first offence for child pornography carries a 5 to 10 year jail sentence. Rot in jail, asshole. That's about all I have to say.

Except, he's an elementary school teacher. He's around children all the time. Must be why he choose his profession, but can you really weed out the scum like him when we underpay and overwork our teachers. Not saying that better pay would solve the situation, but I'm not looking to become a teacher because of the low pay, and I'd rather just do pure math. Not that I don't think teaching wouldn't be great and rewarding, but it ain't gonna pay off my student loans. But there is a profile for pedophiles. If we decided to take seriously misogyny and porn addiction in our culture I think that we should be able to solve the problem of having school teachers who aren't downloading child pornography. We can start by getting rid of regular pornography. But what do I know, I'm just a hairy legged prude.

No, really, I'm a feminist*

As you all should know by now (I rarely blog about these things as I feel the people who read my blog read all the blogs on my sidebar and know this all ready) Amp from Alas, has sold his domain to some guy who has used it to post reviews of porn: seen here (could be triggering). Alas, I have stayed away from Alas (no pun intended) for a long ass time now, because my idea of a pro-feminist man is not someone who allows anti-feminists to beat up feminists on his blog. I think that Heart does a great job discussing it at her post.


I hate to say it, because in cases like this I'd prefer to be wrong, but I told you so.

edited to add: Witchy-Woo's take on the whole debacle.
Well known, male, ‘pro-feminist’ blogger and cartoonist of long standing with large and (mostly) loyal readership finds his site is beoming too costly to run and he’s in a bit of a financial pickle. What do you think he does? What would you do? Find a cheaper host? Go to your readership for suggestions and support, maybe. Or solicit advertising from feminist-friendly organisations, perhaps. There are a number of viable options to choose from - some more palatable than others.

and Sparkle*Matrix's take
Crocodile tears Mr Amp, you couldn’t give a flying fuck about how “Alas” readers may feel that you have “sold out” That’s a bog standard request for reassurance that events were out of your control. You want affirmations that you were not to blame for events.

and a follow up at Women's Space
*sarcasm, please.

Happy weekend!

I hope you all are having a good one. I am refinishing some furniture I just got off craigslist, and just got Season's 1 and 2 of Veronica Mars, so it's a Veronica Marsathon at my house! With kitties and gourmet food! Woot! Happy weekend!

A Thought on Women and Sports

A few days ago I read Twisty's post on girl's sports and the ensuing comments which went on to argue back and forth about how men are stronger biologically, blah blah blah. I cannot emphasize how strongly I disagree. Look at Boxing champ Lucia Rijker:


Tell me that it's a matter of biological strength and not of training. Also there seems to be a side conversation about how women are shorter then men because of genetics. My own anecdotal evidence: all the women in my family are 5'5" or shorter. Dad's side; mom's side: everyone. My dad happens to be around 6 ft. I'm a little over 5'8". Now that is in no way linked to my mother's x chromosone or my father's. Ridiculousness abounds. Yeah, it's genetic. But I tower over all my relatives (the blood ones anyway). Various observations that women are always going to be short because their female relatives are has some relevance, yes, but anyone can draw the short straw in the height genetics game. When I said I tower over my relatives I also tower over all the (blood related) men in my family as well.

Muscle mass does build easier in men, but that doesn't mean that they are default stronger. Your average man was taught to try sports; to be atheletic. Your average woman, and it's definitely been my experience, is taught not to be stronger then the boys (or smarter, but that's another issue). There's still oodles of sexism in (oh for example let's take) the boxing industry. Watch Shadow Boxers and listen to the questions that the reporters ask the boxers: "What does your husband think?" "Why do you want to hit people?" Do they ask these questions of male boxers? Of course not. Even women that win Golden Gloves championships are seen as abnormal, unfeminine. And these are athletes that dedicate much of their time and lives to their sport.

Why am I using boxing? Could it be that the first boxing gym I joined the trainer was a lecherous hump who wouldn't stop making disgusting remarks to me? (Because I'm only boxing to sleep with old, disgusting boxing trainers! Right!) Could it be that I'm one of about 3 women who box in the gym I'm currently at? Could it be that as I feel stronger in my body, i.e. as I get more definition in my arms, am able to run farther and farther each week, and can't wait until the next time I spar people feel the need to either think I'm a) joking about being a boxer, or b) ask me why I do it. Sometimes they just stare at me with their mouths wide open, or giggle, or say something along the lines of "oh my god! Why?"

I should not own a TV

So this is gonna be quick because I have to go to class, but there's a commercial that makes me scream everytime I see it, much to the dismay of my neighbours. Ok, actually 2, but there's a Philadelphia cream chesse commercial that just drives me bonkers. It's supposedly sent in heaven, they have this whole set with this woman angel. The one that I keep seeing starts out with her coming out of a meeting and meeting another woman angel for lunch. So far no problem, but then this tall, model looking model, the new angel in accounting walks by, and the 1st woman says "Have you seen how perky her wings are? They can't be real." Then the two women eating start giggling. So even in a heaven type situation we are still judging each other and making ourselves feel better by putting down other, perhaps younger, women who fit the whole ideal of feminine beauty. ARGH!

I guess it pisses me off so much for the obvbious reasons, but I would hope that if it's supposed to be heaven we would be free from the constant need to be obsessed with the patriarchal beauty standard. Now I know I shouldn't expect more from a commercial, but it drives me insane that this is pitched to us and not only perfectly normal, but ok in a supposed ideal situation. I mean why not walk up to her and say hi instead of judging her because her 'wings' happen to be 'perky'. Obviously I ask to much from commercials that prtray heaven then I should. I don't believe in heaven, but if it does exist (I am agnostic) I refuse to believe that we will behave in a catty way towards one another, but then again that's my heaven, not a patriarchal version of one that has us continuing to compete with one another based on body standards. I hate TV.

Ah school (in which the author is NOT anxiety blogging, but instead talking about patriarchy)

School's almost here which means my neighbourhood has been filled with loud drunken assholes all week. Woo. It was so quiet and peaceful. *sigh*

But what actually pisses me off more then having people screaming outside my window is that I will be subjected to another year of the school paper which has such fine pieces of journalism as a lovely piece about "spring skin" in which the author tells the women on campus that please, for the love of god, don't wear skimpy clothes. All the poor boys who can't help but turn you into pornography when you do, and they are completely defenseless. Their grades suffer and they just can't do anything except stare at your shoulder and drool from seeing skin. For them we should institute a school wide policy in which all women have to wear parkas no matter what the temperature. All skin showing is strictly prohibited (by women only, that is). Oh wait, this reminds me of something....

Really, why aren't more guys offended by this? Because according to the author, everytime you see the teensiest bit of skin (say maybe an ankle) the verbal part of your brain shuts off and you go into caveman mode. And why the hell is this in a campus paper? I generally don't read it because it is so well known as a piece of crap by anyone with half a brain, but everytime I pick it up it has sexist crap like that spread all over it. Oh joy. Here we go.

Has any one seen my heart? (Anxiety run amok)

Not again
Originally uploaded by union_clown.

I can't deal with this town. I can't deal with seeing Jason everywhere. It's the (most probable) cause of this recent anxiety swing. I also think I'm around some kind of anniversary, because I can sleep well during the day, but can't at night. I've never had this problem before so I can't help but wonder if it's something I've uncovered or my body has remembered since I have begun healing most of the obvious triggers and problems, which leads me back to where I started this post: Jason.

I can't deal with it, but I fear calling him to ask if he wants to talk (or stop by since he moved in a block away from me...fuck) when I'm sober because that might mean revealing my feelings and having to let him know (soberly) how much it hurts, how my stomach clenches and I want to cry (and yell at him) everytime I see him, which unfortunately is almost daily now. Not on purpose, mind you. We see each other, I ignore him, and he searches my face trying to make eye contact and get my attention, but all I can do is stare at some spot in the distance and pretend I don't see him 2 feet away from me, standing right in front of me. The idea of spending the summer in Savannah keeps me going most of the time, but that's a long ass time away and I fear I may just crack before that time comes.

School's starting in 2 days, and I can't figure out if I'm upset or ambivalent about it. One it'll give me things to take my mind off the fact that I have not felt heartache this horrible EVER. (This may be partially because I was never healed enough to open up in the way I did with J ever before in my life. Yay healing.) But then there's two: it'll pile stress on me and the forced socialisation and leaving of my comfortable, warm nook. It's so hard for me to make myself do assignments, but hopefully the math will continue to be enjoyable...I'm worried about the physics, because right now I don't fucking care about anything except taking my mind off how I'm feeling right now. Fuckity fuck fuck.

Ummm....

Tri-Lamb Material 65 % Nerd, 26% Geek, 56% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd and Dork, earning you the coveted title of: Tri-Lamb Material. The classic, "80's" nerd, you are what most people think of when they think "nerd," largely due to 80's movies like Revenge of the Nerds and TV shows like Head of the Class. You're exceptionally bright and smart, and partly because of that have never quite fit in with your peers or social groups. Perhaps you've realized, or will someday, that it is possible to retain all of the things that you like about being brilliant and still make peace with the social cliques around you. Or maybe you won't--it's really not necessary. As the brothers of Lambda Lambda Lambda discovered, you're fine just the way you are and can take pride in that. I mean, who wants to be like Ogre, right!? Congratulations!

I took it again:

Pure Nerd 65 % Nerd, 26% Geek, 39% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd. The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful. Congratulations!

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test

I never saw the movie, and don't exactly enjoy their definition of dork. It's not my definition. And I think my definition of not fitting in is a lot different then theirs. You know, with the whole clown thing. I may be socially akward, but other people usually call that "quirky."

Fuckity fuck fuck (anxiety blogging)

God damn it. I can't sleep. I feel like I've been on the verge of an anxiety attack all week. It just keeps building and building. I can't deal with this shit. If I take an anti-anxiety med now I'll sleep through tommorrow and I can't do that. The cats need food and I have an appointment with my (kick ass rad fem) therapist. Fuck. Even mastrubating's not fun, but ever since my last sexual assault I haven't been able to orgasm (except with Thomas who lives far away and who I'm secretly (though I guess not anymore) in love with. No wonder that doesn't put me to sleep. Shit I don't even have a bath tub in which to soak and let everything drop away. No. Is it because I've been seeing Jason a lot more (ex possible unicorn now dubbed *asshole*)? I mean what? Is it that I've been on disability for 2 years and I'm waiting to hear back if they think I need to go see another government shrink and tell him all about my problems (last time it was a guy, seeing as this isn't a large city I'm assuming there's only one and at least he didn't press me to talk about my sexual assaults; not that I could mind you, I was sobbing uncontrollably at the time. FUCK. I don't know what caused this, and I don't know what'll stop it, but I'm damn sick of having PTSD. I hate everyone and I just want to sleep, but I can't even do that. Fuck. I fail at simple things like sleeping.

Oh and they upped my Zoloft to 150 mg a day. WOO WOO.

fuck. But I'm still a superhero.

Oops on the title

Dammit. Anyone got any leads on finding affordable housing for about 20 days in December in Savannah?

Gah...my computer is being finicky about it's internet connection and wouldn't show me couchsurfing.com

New computer!

It's all shiny and I haven't been able to rip myself away from it since I got it. But now I have to go and get my teeth drilled. *sigh*

Just popping in for a second...

I never knew that when I posted my Parsley and Vitamin C recipie for inducing a period that I would still be getting visits, that it would be the number one search that brought people here, and that I would be getting feedback from the women who have used the method.

Everytime one of you says 'thank you for posting this' I am reaffirmed in my efforts as a feminist. And everytime you say that you will pass the information on I am excited to know that this information will be spread far and wide. The people who tell me blogs are stupid do not know how much power you all have, and how much a single post can yield. All I can say is wow. I'm still in shock. That's why there have been no more "Fun with Sitemeter Posts" by the time I check sitemeter all the bullshit searches for porn, etc have been wiped away by women searching for ways to induce miscarriages. It's been the top visisted page since it was posted. I hope it's helpful, it was for me.

Also, I ordered a new computer, so you should all see me back online more regularly. Rantings and all. I miss you.

Meme meme meme (real post below)

I’ve been tagged by Laurelin!

1. One book that changed your life? My first Andrea Dworkin book, "Letters from a War Zone." I was so happy to have found a book that expressed all my concerns and thoughts perfectly.

2. One book you have read more than once? This may be cheating, but the "Regarding the..." series by Katie and M. Sarah Klise. They're amazing kids books that I read when I feel down. There's (regarding the): fountain, sink, tree, and bathroom and I love those books so much.

3. One book you would want on a desert island? The unabridiged Oxford English Dictionary. Why? Because I can only have one, and this one would last a looooong ass time, and I always think about reading the entire thing from start to finish and never have enough time.

4. One book that made you laugh? "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. Also the section on misused words in Strunk and WHite's "Elements of Style" cracks my ass up everytime.

5. One book that made you cry? "A Woman on the Edge of Time" by Marge Piercy. I understand why she had to do what she did, but it made me so sad. (It's also one of my favourite books that I've read over and over. I have two copies: one for me and one loner copy.)

6. One book you wish had been written? My book, of course.

7. One book you wish had never had been written? Geez...where do I start? How about all those horrible Howard Stern books that my ex-roommate had lying around all over. I hope that guy gets castrated by a mob of women that he's abused.

8. One book you are currently reading? "JPod" by Douglas COupland. It's Microserfs updated. I love Douglas COupland books. Guess that's why I live near Vancouver.

9. One book you have been meaning to read? Goodness gracious. I have a library of books I bought and want to read. "Pornography and Silence" by Susan Griffin.

10. Now tag five people! I tag anyone who’s reading this and hasn't been tagged since it took me so long to get around to it.

I met Ms. Jared!!! (Tales of the Bay Area)

And she's FAB-U-LOUS!!! SO is the wonderfully cute Ms. Mabel. YAY!!!

Posts to come: Industrial Workers of the World General Assembly (i.e. weekend of boring meetings) update including the ratified Gender Action Plan AND the new committee that I co-chair to write a Gender Violence policy that will become part of the by-laws of the constitution. Also will include: how many stupid white guys does it take to make me want to scream and break things? And the whole bullshit about following 'Robert's Rules' for the IWW meetings which have many rank and file members who don't have robert's rules memorised (myself included). DETAILS TO COME. Stay Tuned.

Good god damn

Why can't people be up front about shit that others do that bugs them so that the people doing the action can a) stop and b) apologise, not stay silent until a time when you have to hear about something you did a year ago that really freaked them out, but they never managed to tell you (even over a large distance in conversations held after the event took place).

Sorry if that didn't make sense. Just needed to vent, and since none (ok, one) of you will know who/what situation sparked this I felt like this was a good place to vent one of the things that really pisses me off. Like my friend who would never tell me that she didn't like hugging even though she always hugged me when we would see each other and never was awkward about it. (This came up on a night out when we were both rather tipsy and she was complaining about *another* friend who hugged her all the time. We'd (or at least people you should be friends with) would stop it if you would just tell us. *sheesh*)

Bah...I'm gonna go home and play with my cats. I can't believe I'll be away for a week and a half, and in someone else's house that will be party central this weekend, AND be full of guys I don't know. Awesome. I hope I get in touch with Soledad in the Bay Area so I have someplace safe and quiet to stay at. I don't sleep well around guys I'm not very close with, but really, can you blame me?

(Also can you blame me preferring to hang out with my cats, at least while I'm on the passive-agressive, everyone-thinks-I'm-an-asshole-for-being-blunt-and-truthful west coast.) Suddenly I don't want to go anywhere at all. Damn non-refundable plane tickets.

Anyone got a plane ticket lying around?

To SF for the IWW General Assembly next weekend? I was gonna train hop, but my parents showed up and I don't think I'll have enough padding to make sure I get there in time.

(And Ms. Jared I'm planning to stay for at least a week after the GA...wanna grab a cup o'coffee and talk revolution...assuming I can get down there somehow.)

Blah. Parents, not good. More on that later. Explains the muscle spasms and migraines though. Fuck.

***UPDATE*** Thanks to a scholarship fund set up to finance women trying to get to the GA (last year it was like 6/7 to 1, we need all the women we can get) I will only be paying $56 out of pocket for my plane ticket. Liza darling, give me a shout. I'm coming in around 1 on Thursday *AND* I'll be there until the 13th! WOOT! Also, Ms. Jared shoot me an email, I'd love to meet you!

Isn't prostitution HI-larious?

From the illustrious I'm Not a Feminist, But:

The delightful Channel 5 are set to screen a new comedy featuring the oh-so-hilarious lives of women working in a UK brothel. Conspicuously absent from this series will be rape, violence and drug addiction, in their place we have shoe collections, student debt, and a poor, hard done by male whose wife doesn't give him enough attention. Oh, and just to silence any of those whinging feminists who might complain, it's called Respectable - how dare you criticise these women for their choices? It's the oldest profession and it's time we starting giving these ladies some respect. Prude.

Please join me in saying a big fuck you to Channel 5.

And to reinforce it, write to:

Customer Services Five
22 Long Acre
London
WC2E

customerservices@five.tv

More info later...

...but this weekend is the wonderous Vancouver Zombie Walk!!! WOO WOO!All are invited to come in their undead best. I will be the scary clown zombie...muahahahahhahahaha!

Holy CRAP!

Warning: this may read somewhat weird, but I'm still in shock.

Monday you could call a somewhat normal day. I went to class, came home, spaced out, and kind of just hung out around my house. Then there was a knock at the door. I didn't really want to get up and get it, but I though it was my friend Ginny. So I arose and opened the door. I was astonished to find that there were two men standing at my door. They promptly introduced themselves and showed me their badges. Yessiree, I got a visit from an ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) agent and an FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations)agent.

They said that my name came up in relation to an arson that was committed on Camano Island. (Details here.) That was the first time I had even heard about it. Why my name came up is so ludicrous. They asked me why my name might have come up. I told them that the only reason I could think of as to why my name came up is because I have been involved in Earth First! in the past, but that our motto is "nonviolent direct action ini defense of Mother Earth" and that the only types of groups that do things like arson are ELF and if someone was doing things as an ELFer they sure as hell wouldn't tell me. I mean I have barely been involved in any campaigns since my arrest for locking down to a pipeline drill engine 5 years ago. I'm not exactly the radical activist I was, I am an IWW delegate, and we do have a couple active campaigns going on locally. But I haven't done a treesit in about 7/8 years, and I have not really been in touch with that entire community, being all lonely up here in the borderlands.

When they asked me if there was a president of Earth First! I almost laughed, if I wasn't in so much shock I would have. But me, ME! They were questioning me!!! (About something I didn't even know about until they told me about it.) They wanted me to tell them people I knew that were involved in the organisation. I did not name any names, but even if I was subpoenaed to a Grand Jury I would take the stand (if I did know anything I'd go to jail before I named names) because I KNOW NOTHING. I think the feds got that. I told them that yeah I had friends that were in EF!, but they wouldn't do things like that AND that I didn't even know if they were involved with EF! anymore. That and none of them live in this area.

When I was more active I always thought that I may get a visit from the feds, but getting one during a stretch of time where I could not be further removed from the radical environmental activist community is ludicrous. Thank god they weren't here about my radical unionising. Bah. I still feel icky.

Hmph.

You all missed my birthday. It was on Saturday. So there. ;)

It's about that time again

For my friends to put on the yearly Autonomous Mutant Fest. Now I used to go all the time when I traveled with The End of the World Circus, but I was feeling a lot stronger last year and kind of missed some of the people that I have known for a decade. I was thinking about going again this year to see those few people that I miss dearly and only got to see for a short time last year. So here's the thing(s):

-Having to see someone who tries to be my friend after our entire relationship consisted of him trying to fuck me, me saying 'no' and threatening to hit him with various things, and me telling women he was hitting on that he had STD's and he wouldn't tell them about them and that he wouldn't wear a condom (everyone in the circus knew this, why so many rad women say that they love him is beyond me. I've actually punched him once or twice. No love here. I wish he was dead.)

-Having to deal with circus freaks like abovementioned asshole who think that burlesque and porn are peachy keen and contain women who constantly try to 'outsexy' each and run around wearing next to nothing b/c that's what radical circus people do and try to drag me into it. (YO! I'm a CLOWN! We're only sexy in a completely anti-establishment sexy kind of way. We wear funny clothes and make asses of ourselves. That's fucking hot.)

-Also have to deal with men and women who think I should lighten up about forementioned asshole because 'it's Pierre, everybody loves him!' Also have to deal with circus men thinking that I will want to sleep with them with or without their partner's knowledge because hey, they're polyamorists. (Sometimes the invite includes said partner, but seriously if you can't hang out with me as a friend and are only nice to me when you want in my pants I ain't gonna sleep with you. Now if we're all friends and you like me for more then how I look well then we can have a crazy good time.)

-Last year after the screening of a couple of Lost Film Festival movies somebody put a porn on. No warning, no indication that the next movie was going to be a porn. Parents were upset (good amount of kids in the audience); I was spitting nails. But you know it's cool, because some people made it at the festival. That's subversive, dude. Also since I was lucky enough to see the beggining (since I had no time to leave beforehand) I noticed that this subversive porn contained about 5 seconds of foreplay. Yeah because I know any woman who gets off in 5 seconds. Also NO CONDOM! This was the last thing I saw (I had to collect my props from the circus show we had before the film...I would have been glad to have seen the first second and taken off like a bat out of hell, but I have some nice props.) and loudly yelled about. Someone then yelled where condoms could be found for free.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. The pure assumption that everyone would be ok with porn b/c we're all so subversive and counter-culture pissed me off. As I found my way away from the camp they were showing this at I ran into some mothers who were just as angry as I was about how there was no warning and about how showing a porn in totally open space like that was horrible. Some had a feminist tint to their concerns, but I was the only one sans kid complaining about the porn. Most concerns were about their children seeing them, and that is a concern as well, but I want to live in a world where women aren't seen and pushed onto us as fuckholes. Everyone else was all 'lighten up' though I did have a good conversation with a fellow female clown about how porn is bad and the difference between porn and erotica. She got it, but I don't think fully, but that someone in that atmosphere who's friends with Pierre (asshole of the second paragraph) was open to listening and actually thinking about what I said was awesome. Sheesh. Somedays it's like begging for scraps.

Gah. I'm supposed to go back, but this just makes me pissy. I hate people sometimes. Maybe for just a weekend. If it sucks I can always leave. But there are a few people that I want to get in touch with that I have no other way of getting in touch with. I miss Brian...he's teh awesome. *sigh*

Gah.

What's Another Rad Fem's new blogsite again? My blogroll is in serious need of an update.

GET THE ALIEN FETUS OUT OF MY HEAD NOW!!!

I have had either 3 migraines in the past week and a half, or 1 2-day migraine and one 1 day migraine. I fucking hate them. Neurologist (appt. today) said that if they continue at this rate that I should come back, but if they go back to happening once or twice a month that I shouldn't worry about it. It's no big deal. Because migraines are such a hoot.


Bah.

Time to meet the family

Before my computer was stolen I got a good deal on a digital camera, but now it's gone, but I still have the camera so it's time to meet my lovely kittyfaceheads.

This is Mischief:
She likes to follow random people home and to hang out with the neighbours. We go on walks and she responds to her name. She also runs up to greet me everytime I come home. Has also been known to drink water out of fish bowls and likes to play in the shower. She's 3 and my friend's found her running around the inside of a grocery store when she was a kitten. Somehow she charmed her way into my life (I was only supposed to watch her til they found a place for her, but now she's my best friend in the world.)

But wait....what's over there?


This room isn't blocked off usually...hmmmm, better investigate closer.


OH NOES! It seems that there are some intruders in the house!



Yep, not everything has been sucky lately, though Mischief's unpleasantness with the interlopers has made hard times even harder. I miss her so much. She doesn't even sleep with me anymore, but hopefully that'll change.

Meet Logan. So far he's the only cat in the house who likes me right now and ALWAYS wants attention, pets, and treats.

He likes to chew on electrical cords, lick my nose, chase his sister, and generally try and get into as much trouble as Mischief, who he also likes to follow around the house. He's also still pretty clumsy as he's got big paws and hasn't quite grown into them yet. We were snuggling on my bed the other day (which is lofted) and he rolled over right off the bed. Tehehe. I usually like to name my cats acccording to personality, but after all the stupid questions about his sister's name, he got the name Logan, partly as a joke, partly because I like that name, and partly because it stops people from asking the stupid questions about his sister's name.

And this is his sister Wolverine (named for my personal radical feminist mascot). She's a flurry of tooth and claw. She's been being socialised since the beginning of June and I just got her to purr last week (incidentally when I stopped petting her she hissed at me and ran away).
She enjoys growling, hissing, scratching, and biting anyone who gets in her space. Also if you are in the room and she happens to walk in she will generally stop and hiss at you before carrying on, just to remind you that she doesn't like you. (But she's so cute!!!)

Wolverine and Logan were found with their 2 littermates hanging out by the art annex on campus. I only wanted to take one, but it's best that Wolver-"I'll rip your face off"-ine and Lo-"I just want you to love and play with me forever"-gan went to a home together. I think it's one of the reasons I can now pick her up without a towel (though still very carefully), and the reason she's gotten so comfortable around me so quickly. They're about 19 weeks now and getting fixed on Thursday (which will hopefully help sort out the Mischief hates me situation), but these pictures were taken a month ago when I first got them.

So there you go. These are my cutie heads. I did warn y'all that if I got a digital camera this place would be smattered with pictures, right? Oh and here's one more, cuz it's just too damn cute to leave out:

More reasons to hate American football

(other than the fact that it's super machismo rugby for wimps)

So the local football team, the BC Lions has started running ad campaigns that include men:
-shopping for candles and home accessories
-discussing fabric softener, or doing just about any number of "un-manly" things (i.e. I forgot the rest of the commercials). Then these men get knocked unconcious by a football to the head. The tag line is You need some football in your life. The object of the campaign being that if you're not swilling overpriced crappy bear, hooting and hollering and ogleing the 'Felions' (yes you read that correctly), then you are not a man, but then again, the BC Lions have the answer. If you are a man and choose to discuss things that are apparently 'un-manly' you can regain your testicular self worth by consuming football.

These commercials irk me. No I don't stand around discussing how good someone's fabric softener smells (mostly b/c the scented ones generally make me sneeze, but if someone smells pleasant I may ask them what that scent is), but one would assume that some people do, though according to the BC Lions publicists, those people are supposed to be women. Or unmanly men. Because we all know that men are not supposed to worry about the day to day household things at all. That's not what they do, that's what women are here for right?

Gah, my next post is about sports, AGAIN. It's more about Italian culture but the tie in was my experience the day we won the world cup (yes I'm Sicilian).

I'm not dead

I'm just computerless, broke, and anxious. It's been an awesome week. I've acted out in two of the three ways that I have historically acted out (not cutting this time), can't say it's been very fun, but oh well. I miss you all terribly and have a few posts in the works (I've recently been actually hanging out with people (*GASP*) and have a lot to say about it. Grrrr.