back to good
Mood:  bright
Ok, why do people feel the need to cast themselves and others into narrow, stereotyped roles? I'm speaking right now of the lesbian community. Labels have bloomed like mold on last week's neatloaf-and-tofu scramble. Boi, gurl, queer, gender queer, gender f*ck, butch, femme, butchie femme, femme-y butch, dyke, tranny boi, tranny boy, tranny boi dyke, transgendered, FTM, transitioning, gender neutral, androgynous, etc, etc. But still, people look to define others by their own opinions, or try to alter themselves to placate or please someone else. One girl I know has considered cutting her hair to look for lesbian. Another has large breasts and deep dimples and short short hair and wears tight shirts and people assume she is femme although she's one of the most guy girls I know. Others won't select a gender and people can't understand that. One feminine girl I know rarely stands up for herself because she thinks that's what people expect, but she's very tough and just afraid to show it. And goddess forbid a butch woman one day shows up in public in a skirt.

Noone wants to be judges, but almost everyone judges. Just let people be. There's no need to mimic traditional hetero types and roles, or pick a gender just because "that's the way it is". Maybe that's not the way it is for everyone.

I went out in a beater today that says BOI. Got a lot of looks in a shopping mall. Wish someone had talked to me though, rather than making assumptions and giving me dirty looks.

bush's speech
I wish I'd had a tape recorder with me in my car. During Bush's numerous pauses during his speeches I was screaming my rebuttals. I'm sure people in the cars next to me were enjoying the show. Ok, some of his ideas were ok. But emphasis on the word ideas, since there is no way in hell that most of what he "outlined" will ever happen. I'm going to try to find a transcript so I can add my thoughts to his. But I think maybe the public is finally aware and cynical enough to not be fooled by a speech that he didn't write and then delivered with utter lack of conviction. At least I hope that is public response. That's the Iraqi response. Is it possible that they know our president better than we do?

the worst of reality tv
Thanks to an observant reader, this blog is now open for comments, but if you post hate language, pornographic content, spam, or anything regarding Viagra or mortgages it's gone. GONE.

That said, allow me to comment on Cosmetic Surgery TV, or as I call it What The F**k Are These People THinking TV. Shame on everyone behind these-creators, advertisers, producers, and the public who, by watching this crap, keep it going.

Women subjecting their bodies to god-knows-what in hopes of....? Love life? Better job? I'd like to see a show where they give them the psychological help and coaching without the mutilation and see what happens. These woman are putting themselves at risk, now and in the future, for what? A mass-media idea of beauty? A "star" face? Worse, reputable plastic surgeons won't say they can make a person look like so-and-so, or give them Ms. X's nose. And people, convinced that surgery really is the answer to their problems, will shop around until they find a doctor to accomadate.

We're such a quick-fix-pop-a-pill society that people are starting to equate surgical procedures withe "just another medicine". Granted, these shows do show the women bandaged and sore, but I want to see the stats of how many had problems with infection, anaesthesia, depression, pain-killer dependence or addiction. How many had worse problems with family/mates after than before? How many people think, a year down the line, that it really was worth it. I'm betting not a lot.

Ok, I'll cop to the fact that I follow these shows primarily through soundbites, online and radio discussions. I can't bring myself to tune in. I refuse to feed the frenzy.

Please, just say no to mutilation TV.

born?
I think homosexuality happens for a variety of reasons. I think in most cases it's genetic or biologically determined, and people fall along a spectrum of sexual orientation, with many people of course at the extremes (pure heterosexual or pure homosexual). I'm both pleased and disturbed that science seems to be confirming this. Pleased because maybe people will realize that for most it's not a choice, disturbed because if they find a "test" for it, they may also try to find a "cure", or people might abort their child if they see that as a defect, or mistreat it once it is born, or place certain expectations on it (my baby will be gay so let's make sure it sollows the stereotype, much as parents try ot push their children into hetero stereotpyes), or try to manufacture it out--or in. We're coming closer to the reality of designer babies, scarily enough.

I also know that, particularly in the lesbian community, there are people who choose to have relationships with their same gender for any number of reasons. Is this just a manifestation of how they were born, an acceptance of that? Perhaps, perhaps not.

what's true?
What's true? I doubt we'll ever know. The propaganda machines are alive and well around the world. Everything that is news requires observation with a certain level of skepticism and cynicism.

On a happy note, Massachusetts is now marrying homosexuals and the world hasn't com to an end.

support the troops
I very much question Bush's reasons for sending soldiers to war, but regardless, they are there and deserve all our support. It sickens me when people speak against the military and our soldiers there. They are doing their jobs, regardless of what they personally believe, and making daily life or death decisions. We hear of the deaths, but what of the injuries? And consitions?

I think it's our duty as citizens to question our leadership, to ask why and expect answers. But it's also our duty to support the troops no matter what. They didn't ask to serve in a somewhat unpopular war. They signed up for the military for whatever reason--education, service to country, a way to escape poverty, job training, family history--and are doing their honor-bound duty. I'm sure that more than a few soldiers have refused and left. But the ones that are there should not be tarred by their leader's questionable actions.

Support our troops--they need it now more than ever.

that one little moment
i think i am the only one who has this feeling. i can look back at my life and know that had i answered one very specific question differently, the whole trajectory of my life would have changed. i know the precise, tiny moment, the event that seemed so unimportant at the time, but in hindsight changed everything that would be. anyone else know how i feel?

makes me think
one of these days i'm going to make a list of songs I associate with certain people, so that I can either remember to listen to them and be happy or never let them in my ears again. unfortunately radio stations around me have a knack for playing exactly what I don't want to hear when i least want to hear it. thank goodness for CDs.

terrorism lives
i've looked at several dictionary entries and come up with a definition i like:

the systematic use of terror, including fear or threats of physical violence, as a means of coercion

when people hear the word terrorism, they equate it with bombers, religious or military fanatics, or all of the above. what they don't realize is that many people live in a state of terror, and terrorism exists in schools, homes, neighborhoods, etc. the word has taken on a meaning far larger than the simple dictionary definition, but even boiled down to its simplest meaning it is no less scary. imagine a life where you spend every moment looking over your shoulder, jumping every time the phone or doorbell rings. imagine being afraid of what you say to someone for fear of the repercussions. imagine a life where someone or something is so consistently unpredictable that fear becomes a way of life, and you look for everyone's angle, assume that each look or word is intended to intimidate.

this is living in a state of terror, and the person who fears their spouse or neighbor or boss is no better off than the person that fears a suicide bomber, mortar attack, or random gunfire. I'd even venture to say that there is some comfort in an unknown enemy...you know you cannot plan, whereas if you know the perpetrator, they are a constant presence, whether they are physically near or not.

too much candy, man
I've had waaaaay too much candy today. Is there even a time of year anymore when there's not an abundance of sweet junkfood and some sort of occasion to buy it? I guess summer--there aren't many chocolate holidays then--but then there's barbeque and lemonade and the overwhelming desire for ice cream. Everything overlaps--Xmas candy isn't even cleared out when Valentine's shows up, then easter, etc, and don't forget the little green trolls with their thin mints and do-si-does outside every retail outlet in america, extracting a guilty $4 from nearly every passerby.

but even as i piss and moan i gleefully stuff myself with cadbury cream eggs and peeps (only chicks and bunnies--the originals).