What happens next?

Vintage Halloween.

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:08:29 GMT

Good Samhain, all.

Here's a thing

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:52:50 GMT

XKCD

One of the things I like about XKCD is the ironic meta-commentary that happens on multiple levels.

However, I don't actually know any women who wish the complete stranger but-cute boy on the train would talk to them. Women are trapped on trains and buses, until the vehicle stops. A woman is typically a lot more aware of whether the creepy guy from the bus is following her to work, than whether or not the "cute boy" -- who is nonetheless a complete stranger -- will ever work up the nerve to talk to her. So the XKCD strip? It isn't a scenario I can even imagine a woman writing.

I happened across this particular strip from a comments thread link, following this post:
Schrödinger’s Rapist: or a guy’s guide to approaching strange women without being maced

Although the writer makes a number of assumptions with which I'm not in complete agreement, she also makes a some points that bear discussion and reflection, and sharing with your friends and acquaintances. And in the comments thread, before things go all to hell, woman after woman makes the point that she tries very hard to pointedly read her book or look out the window -- and inevitably, when some guy tries to make conversation, she's braced for him to escalate things to "Jeez, I'm being nice, bitch - what's your problem?"

From the post linked above:

Now, you want to become acquainted with a woman you see in public. The first thing you need to understand is that women are dealing with a set of challenges and concerns that are strange to you, a man. To begin with, we would rather not be killed or otherwise violently assaulted.

“But wait! I don’t want that, either!”
Well, no. But do you think about it all the time? Is preventing violent assault or murder part of your daily routine, rather than merely something you do when you venture into war zones? Because, for women, it is. When I go on a date, I always leave the man’s full name and contact information written next to my computer monitor. This is so the cops can find my body if I go missing. My best friend will call or e-mail me the next morning, and I must answer that call or e-mail before noon-ish, or she begins to worry. If she doesn’t hear from me by three or so, she’ll call the police.

It brings to mind a number of thoughtful posts I've seen from men, the last few years, as well.

Joss Whedon on "What's wrong with women?" wrote:

I have yet to find a culture that doesn’t buy into it. Women’s inferiority – in fact, their malevolence -- is as ingrained in American popular culture as it is anywhere they’re sporting burkhas. I find it in movies, I hear it in the jokes of colleagues, I see it plastered on billboards, and not just the ones for horror movies. Women are weak. Women are manipulative. Women are somehow morally unfinished. (Objectification: another tangential rant avoided.) And the logical extension of this line of thinking is that women are, at the very least, expendable.

Jim Hines wrote:

How pathetic is it that, in our culture, the only thing you have to do to be a good guy is say, "Hey, one of these days I'll write something about rape." Even that sort of vague, empty comment about rape is enough to make you stand out. Because that's already more than most guys seem willing to say or do.

From an essay on http://meloukhia.net, called Feminism and Joss Whedon: Men, Women, and Dollhouse:

We are taught, as a collective society, that women’s bodies are public property, and that they are always available for sex [Emphasis added]. The female body is an object of collective social consumption, not something which is private. While people may argue that rape is viewed as socially unacceptable, our entire society is structured around the idea of female availability, which is one of the reasons why many women and feminists have reacted so strongly to the troubling themes of personhood, body, and agency in Dollhouse. Even the perception of rape in the real world is complicated, which makes a reading of the events on Dollhouse far from simple. For women and feminists, the show is skirting dangerously close to a reality which already exists, a world in which women’s bodies are assumed to come with consent attached and in which grey areas are automatically not rape. In perhaps the most classic example of how this plays out in the real world, it is assumed that rape cannot take place in a relationship, because consent is built into the structure of the relationship, which means that the body is always available for sex, even when the body’s owner “isn’t there” in the sense that she is drugged, or drunk, or asleep. Even when she explicitly denies consent, it is not rape, because, in the eyes of society, how could you revoke consent once you’re in a relationship?

I'm thinking a lot about women, women's bodies, and sexual politics in SF, partly because I'm reading Bear's Carnival, and thinking about how to go about writing a long essay about the book as a sort of ironic meta-commentary/response to the 20th century feminist utopian novel tradition.

Amelia Earhart's Resting Place

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:39:42 GMT

There's a new article about the mounting evidence that she died a castaway on an island in the Pacific:

"For years, Richard Gillespie, TIGHAR's executive director and author of the book "Finding Amelia," and his crew have been searching the Nikumaroro island for evidence of Earhart. A tiny coral atoll, Nikumaroro was some 300 miles southeast of Earhart's target destination, Howland Island."

The story of her life and her disappearance has fascinated me since I was a child, and first read about her.

Pacific NW morning walk

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:24:43 GMT

It's right around 40 degrees, this morning; chilly, damp, and gray.

Had a lovely walk, and got to pet other people's dogs. Sunday morning seems to be the "take my new pup out for socializing and trail-manners work" day.

And! Pictures of the bay!

Via many folks on my FL:

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:05:54 GMT

I'm 4474th against discrimination by health insurers. Women deserve equal coverage for equal premiums. http://seiu.org/ticket

VP Veggie Curry, because I promised Darice

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:46:16 GMT

What you'll need (flexible sort of a list):

A bag of mixed dried lentils/beans
A couple of onions
A bunch of garlic, according to taste
olive oil or butter (depending on audience)
Some variety of winter squash
veggie stock/broth
curry paste
coconut milk (at VP I use the "lite" variety)
mixed greens: kale, collards, chard, spinach, etc

Rinse then soak your mixed beans and lentils overnight, drain, cover in veggie stock and pop into slow cooker or kettle on lowish heat. Cook for a long time. At some convenient point, clean and peel the squash, cube it up, and toss into pot with beans. This should be a fairly thick mixture, after cooking down. Toss in a pinch of cayenne. Or two.

Slice your onion and garlic into desired sizes and shapes. Saute in butter (or olive oil, if you're worried about that sort of thing) until transparent. At some point, when you happen to think of it, put a big old glop or three of curry paste into the onions while they cook. Keep the heat low enough you don't burn your spices. I usually go hunting for cinnamon sticks to throw into the cooking onions and garlic, too -- and when I can't find them, I resort to a pinch or two of the powdered cinnamon that seems to live in every American kitchen, regardless of region. You can also omit the coconut milk, and instead crunch up a couple of spoonfuls of coriander with a mortar and pestle (I eschew food-processing. Mostly because I just think it sounds nasty) to add to your spice mix, cooked with the onion and garlic.

When onions are transparent and fragrant with spices, add into your bubbling lentils/squash mix. Core and quarter those sorry-looking tomatoes in the veggie crisper, and toss them into the pot, as well. Taste. Add more curry paste, if need be. And cayenne. Add in coconut milk, according to your personal level of fondness for coconut milk.

Wash and coarsely chop your mixed greens, and add to the pot about five minutes before you're ready to serve. (Over way more cooked rice than you anticipated needing.)

Full disclaimer: This will never happen the same way twice.

VPXIII photo set

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:16:20 GMT

Uploaded to Flickr, here. Cheers!

Home again, home again

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:31:37 GMT

Unpacking is odious. Much more odious than packing. However it's really lovely to be home, and my cat isn't even punishing me, she's so happy.

Meanwhile, my avoidance activity list includes catching up on my friends list, and taking internet quizzes I usually avoid. Via gryphynshadow:

You are The Wheel of Fortune

Good fortune and happiness but sometimes a species of
intoxication with success

The Wheel of Fortune is all about big things, luck, change, fortune. Almost always good fortune. You are lucky in all things that you do and happy with the things that come to you. Be careful that success does not go to your head however. Sometimes luck can change.

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

Ugh, packing

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:07:00 GMT

Laundry first, actually, then packing.

And I must make a decision regarding the guitar, because I fly out for VP in the morning.

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:26:50 GMT

This? This is very, very cool. Extremely fun to watch. Now I must go out and buy a case of Rust-Oleum paint.

And maybe a panel van, to go with the case of paint...

Requiescat in pace

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:52:25 GMT

Mary Travers has died.

My mom had all their records, stuck in the very back of the big console record player, with her previous name written with indelible marker, using careful and pretty cursive, on the album covers.

I asked about those albums, once. The resulting conversation was one of those odd and slightly disconcerting experiences that result when children discover that a parent was complete human being, with stories of her own, before having children.

American Health Care stuff

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 04:51:18 GMT

Questions from Jay Lake.

A brief health care survey from jlake.com behind the cut for my non-political friends who can't stand the idea of talking about this any more. My answers in bold.

Jay asks:

Given the furor over Rep. Joe Wilson’s outburst during President Obama’s healthcare speech this week, I have a few simple questions for you. I’m interested in answers from all across the political spectrum, and especially in your logic behind them.

(1) Should the proposed public option cover illegal immigrants?
Yes.

(2) Should illegal immigrants be entitled to emergency medical care?
Yes.

(3) Should illegal immigrants be entitled to nonemergency or preventative medical care?
Yes.

(4) Should immigration status be checked at accident scenes or time of ER admission?
No.

(5) What should happen to people refused treatment because of their immigration status?
People should not be refused treatment on those grounds.

(6) What should happen to people unable to demonstrate their immigration status, due to injury or incapacity?
Not a damned thing. They should be treated to the best of the first responders' and the health care providers' abilities.

(7) Should these standards be applied to minor children of illegal immigrants?
Yes.

My rationale and reasoning is simple: It's the right thing to do. It's absolutely in the best interests of any community for people to be healthy and unafraid. And it's fucking evil, immoral, and obscene to tie health care to wages, income, or legal status.

Over the river and through the woods...

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:18:53 GMT

I just realized I leave for VP in less than a month. Mostly because Kate Salter pointed it out to me... *g*

Good lord.

Also, I need a haircut. Again. The stuff grows like crazy, and I'm noticing distinct shocks of gray. Close-cropped should be kind of salt-n-pepper awesome, until it sun-bleaches out into hairs-of-indeterminate-color again. :D

And there are red pears, which are yummy, because it is Autumn.

Hey, laddie, hey!

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 22:34:11 GMT

There are times that it would be perhaps nice to be a wee bit more linear than I am.

For example, when driving somewhere new, or even newish? Sometimes it gets boring, so I depart from the approved route. Which, y'know, people have been known to find alarming, irritating, or even just . . . odd. And sometimes I end up somewhere completely else from where I intended to go.

This isn't usually too much of an issue, if I'm driving by myself, except it often means a later-than-planned arrival. Or if I'm driving with someone else who is also a bit non-linear. Which is how Cory Doctorow and I missed the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. And then how come Cory got left on foot in Wood's Hole, when I took the NEXT ferry to Martha's Vineyard. Because, well, he got out of the car and wandered off to look for coffee. (It all turned out fine! See? It works. You just can't get all tense about that kind of stuff.)

But when doing stuff like server and software upgrades? Turns out following the map is a REALLY good idea. It's not that this stuff is a completely unintuitive process, of course, but it's more like a Choose Your Own Adventure than it might ideally be. Thank god for people who know a lot more than I do.

Heh.

Just...wow

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:12:43 GMT

I've found the most amazing blog. I was watching YouTube footage of Idi Amin Dada, and running down other online sources, as well, and found UgandanInsomniac.

There's also the Ugandan Insomniac Africa Reading Challenge list, with some amazing links, as well.

PETA gets in on that hot Girl-on-Girl action...

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:24:50 GMT

Just, you know, for your general edification--I thought I'd spread the joy.

The whole thing about the recent SyFy/Stargate lesbian-who-~~gets~~ has-to-fuck-a-man-because-a-straight-chick-is-inhabiting-her-body debacle, added to other generally hate-filled fuck-wittedness, is making me a little too tired to function, honestly.

Behold, an actual PETA press-release from a few months ago, with emphasis added for the eye-rolling amusement factor. Editorial comments in red, just for my own amusement:
___________________________________

Vegetarians Make Better Lovers, Say Lingerie-Clad Ladies
So...let me just parse this...you're going to put two scantily-clad "PETA beauties" on a bed, on a public street, to make out with each other because........because it's got something to do with animal welfare? Then, in the press release, you're going to coyly call these two women "Ladies."
For Immediate Release:
February 10, 2009

Contact:
Ashley Byrne 757-622-7382

Amarillo, Texas -- In a public display of passion that's bound to raise a few eyebrows and turn lots of heads, two PETA beauties--decked out in sexy lingerie--will kiss and pose provocatively on a bed set up on the sidewalk at a busy Amarillo intersection on Monday in order to make the point that vegetarians are better lovers. While the steamy sirens are "getting it on," activists holding a banner reading, "Vegetarians Make Better Lovers," will pass out free copies of PETA's "Vegetarian Starter Kit" to let gaping onlookers know how they can spice up their own sex lives. It's all part of PETA's "Live Make-Out Tour" during the week leading up to Valentine's Day. And what they don't say, but becomes clear in the linked video? They'll let the macho fellows who want to have their picture taken with these two "PETA beauties" just hop right down there to pose for a piece of the action.

When: Tuesday, February 10, 12 noon
Where: Corner of S.W. Sixth Avenue and S. Tyler Street, Amarillo

Why do vegetarians have it all over meat-eaters in the bedroom? For one thing, vegetarians are, on average, more fit and trim and have more energy and stamina than people who stuff themselves with fat-laden meat, dairy products, and eggs. And then there's a possibility of impotence: The cholesterol in meat and other animal products slows the flow of blood to all the body's vital organs, not just to the heart. And speaking of heart, there's nothing sexy about someone who turns a blind eye to the daily suffering of the billions of animals who are raised and killed for food each year.

"What could be more of a turn-on than snuggling up to someone who's both passionate and compassionate?" asks PETA veggie vixen Nadia Elmuanier.

For more information, please visit PETA.org
_____________________________________

Misogyny. It's everywhere, right, left, and center. Someone remind me why on earth anyone still takes these repulsive idiots seriously?

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 06:23:46 GMT

I so very, very seriously need a haircut.

Srsly.

Probably next week. But damn I need to acquire a friend with a good pair of clippers.

w00t!

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:40:48 GMT

matociquala 's Shoggoths in Bloom just won the best novelette Hugo.

Congrats to Bear! (And if you haven't yet read it, you should...)

For those of us playing along at home because we're not at the WorldCon, here's a link to the Hugo Twitter Feed.

Hooray!

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:46:12 GMT

Beers and root beers and nachos with csinman , at a local brewpub, this afternoon. Lovely way to forget that we're all MELTING.

It's okay. Really. I'm adjusting to the sensation of trying to sleep in a puddle of my own sweat.

Blech.

ZOMG

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:34:07 GMT

Muggy and hot here. Like Gulf Coast muggy and hot. Pretty sure I'm entirely covered with a fine sheen of sweat, but it might just be humidity, too -- it's hard to tell for sure.

Heh. I am so very not used to this any more. I do sort of like it, though.

You make sure my pretty baby is sittin' right there on my lap...

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 06:48:52 GMT

Oh look, I found more!

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:23:27 GMT

And just because:

it's complicated...

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:00:32 GMT

It's too hot to sleep

So I'm clicking my way around Youtube, instead.

My god. Remember this one? I was a kid, and it's very weird to me that there are adults who weren't even born yet:

Accidentally discovered YouTube stuff:

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:04:09 GMT

Rainier!

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:59:40 GMT

Amazing day, home now. Very tired, but extremely happy.

Spent the day scrambling around the NW bottom of Mt Rainier, with matociquala and medievalist.

Every year people get themselves turned around and lost up there, when sudden weather cooks itself up then rolls down the mountain on top of hapless day hikers. So anyone who hikes very often learns to plan for "if one of us busts an ankle and the weather goes to shit, then we'll..." Which means you carry stuff like first aid kits, sunscreen, insect repellent, flashlights, materials to start fires even in heavy rain (road flares work beautifully) and extra water. Then you don't use any of it, but that's good -- because if you'd had to use it, you'd have been "those hikers who got caught up on Rainier" instead of "those dipshits who got themselves stuck up on the mountain..." when your misadventure is on the local news, later. Heh.

Unfortunately, I put no such elaborate thought and preparation into making any after-hike plans. Oops. We found a teriyaki place that wasn't too dire, though. I always want Teriyaki to be better than it inevitably is. Ah, well. *G*

Our original plans to hike the Tolmie Peak Trail were thwarted by a road washout. We hiked most of the Green Lake trail, instead -- but got to hike three miles in from the Ranger Station to get to the trailhead, which made it into an extremely pleasant day hike in most excellent company. Also, it made conversation much easier than the straight-up-the-mountain wheezing and grunting that might otherwise have interfered with both my ability to hear, and my ability to answer.

It's an amazing mountain.

Here, look: