The software appears to have "helpfully" corrected for time zones. Looking at the reservation/confirmation from the airline, I am actually landing in Madison at 7, which means I will not be in time for the Room of One's Own reception/reading, and may be in the hotel lobby looking for dinner companions tomorrow night. (That 7 is assuming all goes well at O'Hare, but even if it does I will need to collect my luggage and then get to the Concourse.)
May 23rd, 2013
May 22nd, 2013
posted by ![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tenlittlebullets in ![[community profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
dcmetro at 08:31pm on 2013-05-22
tenlittlebullets in dcmetro at 08:31pm on 2013-05-22One of my housemates is going to be moving out in June, and you know what tha~aaaaat means. Let the roommate search begin!
The House: Victorian duplex in Takoma Park. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, ten-minute walk from Takoma Metro station, directly across the street from a bus stop. $725/month + utilities. Has dishwasher, washer/dryer, front and back porches, gorgeous interior woodwork, driveway (share with 1 other car), resident-only street parking, gas stove, central A/C, double-pane windows, FiOS. In addition to bedrooms: living room, two(!) rooms we use as libraries, a well-equipped kitchen, a sun porch/dining room/pantry, and a large basement used for storage.
The Household: Affectionately dubbed the People’s Republic of Fandom. We’re a bunch of queer nerds. We possess All The Books, All The Comfy Couches, All The Tea, a flatscreen TV hooked up to a Netflix account, and enough miscellaneous vintage electronics in the basement to film a credible ’70s sci-fi movie. We are very used to juggling odd schedules and mismatched dietary restrictions. Anything you may have heard about us being able to procure contraband jelly babies and/or uranium is a complete and utter lie.
Interested parties please comment or contact enjolraic@gmail.com.
(Crossposts: Tumblr, my Dreamwidth, my LJ. Feel free to pass this along!)
The House: Victorian duplex in Takoma Park. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, ten-minute walk from Takoma Metro station, directly across the street from a bus stop. $725/month + utilities. Has dishwasher, washer/dryer, front and back porches, gorgeous interior woodwork, driveway (share with 1 other car), resident-only street parking, gas stove, central A/C, double-pane windows, FiOS. In addition to bedrooms: living room, two(!) rooms we use as libraries, a well-equipped kitchen, a sun porch/dining room/pantry, and a large basement used for storage.
The Household: Affectionately dubbed the People’s Republic of Fandom. We’re a bunch of queer nerds. We possess All The Books, All The Comfy Couches, All The Tea, a flatscreen TV hooked up to a Netflix account, and enough miscellaneous vintage electronics in the basement to film a credible ’70s sci-fi movie. We are very used to juggling odd schedules and mismatched dietary restrictions. Anything you may have heard about us being able to procure contraband jelly babies and/or uranium is a complete and utter lie.
Interested parties please comment or contact enjolraic@gmail.com.
(Crossposts: Tumblr, my Dreamwidth, my LJ. Feel free to pass this along!)
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What am I reading now?
Anasazi America, by David E. Stuart. Yes, still. It's good, but slow, and I have been interrupting myself. The book promises to combine archeology and history, but I'm still in the early chapters, which are necessarily archeological (pre-dating any written records from that part of North America). The book is talking about climate, changes in tools, food sources, settlement patterns, and economics (in a large sense), and the author promises to draw connections between the collapse of the Anasazi civilization and our own time and circumstances.
King of Morning, Queen of Day by Ian Macdonald. Too early in the book to have much to say about it, except that I can entirely understand some of the reasons the characters are annoyed with each other, without anyone actually doing wrong.
What have I read recently?
Aunt Lulu, by Daniel Pinkwater. A cheerful, silly picture book that I reread after spotting it while unpacking. A librarian, sled dogs, and some fine illustrations.
An Excellent Mystery, by Ellis Peters. Reread of a Brother Cadfael that I asked the library for because I didn't recognize the title. Good, but I think I've had enough of these for a while, even if the King County Library System has the middle of the series (the first several, and the last few, are relatively easy to find).
The Highest Frontier, by Joan Slonczewski. I wanted to read something of hers before Wiscon, where she is one of the guests of honor (the other, Jo Walton, is a friend of mine and a writer whose work I like and have read just about all of). This is a coming-of-age adventure about a bright girl from a very political family set about a century in the future, in a world badly affected by climate change, with eerily familiar politics even though the anti-reality forces . Jenny Ramos Kennedy is descended from two presidents, and her family takes for granted that she will go into politics too, but in the meantime she's playing varsity zero-gee sports and being awakened to take EMT/first responder emergency calls.
The story is set mostly in a space habitat, with chunks in virtual reality ("toyspace") and in Somers, N.Y. A kudzu-covered Somers, with a very different fauna and ecosystem than is found there now. It's as plausible a choice as any, but there's something odd about that level of "I've been there" not-really-familiarity for a bit of suburb. The book is fast-paced, the world-building is mostly convincing, and I didn't think the ending quite lived up to the first nine tenths of the book.
What am I going to read next?
Likely something random I download for the kindle (I have a long flight ahead of me) followed by something from the Wiscon dealer's room. Or maybe back to the library stack. [I may drop this section, given that its predictive value has been lower than that of just rolling a die.)
Anasazi America, by David E. Stuart. Yes, still. It's good, but slow, and I have been interrupting myself. The book promises to combine archeology and history, but I'm still in the early chapters, which are necessarily archeological (pre-dating any written records from that part of North America). The book is talking about climate, changes in tools, food sources, settlement patterns, and economics (in a large sense), and the author promises to draw connections between the collapse of the Anasazi civilization and our own time and circumstances.
King of Morning, Queen of Day by Ian Macdonald. Too early in the book to have much to say about it, except that I can entirely understand some of the reasons the characters are annoyed with each other, without anyone actually doing wrong.
What have I read recently?
Aunt Lulu, by Daniel Pinkwater. A cheerful, silly picture book that I reread after spotting it while unpacking. A librarian, sled dogs, and some fine illustrations.
An Excellent Mystery, by Ellis Peters. Reread of a Brother Cadfael that I asked the library for because I didn't recognize the title. Good, but I think I've had enough of these for a while, even if the King County Library System has the middle of the series (the first several, and the last few, are relatively easy to find).
The Highest Frontier, by Joan Slonczewski. I wanted to read something of hers before Wiscon, where she is one of the guests of honor (the other, Jo Walton, is a friend of mine and a writer whose work I like and have read just about all of). This is a coming-of-age adventure about a bright girl from a very political family set about a century in the future, in a world badly affected by climate change, with eerily familiar politics even though the anti-reality forces . Jenny Ramos Kennedy is descended from two presidents, and her family takes for granted that she will go into politics too, but in the meantime she's playing varsity zero-gee sports and being awakened to take EMT/first responder emergency calls.
The story is set mostly in a space habitat, with chunks in virtual reality ("toyspace") and in Somers, N.Y. A kudzu-covered Somers, with a very different fauna and ecosystem than is found there now. It's as plausible a choice as any, but there's something odd about that level of "I've been there" not-really-familiarity for a bit of suburb. The book is fast-paced, the world-building is mostly convincing, and I didn't think the ending quite lived up to the first nine tenths of the book.
What am I going to read next?
Likely something random I download for the kindle (I have a long flight ahead of me) followed by something from the Wiscon dealer's room. Or maybe back to the library stack. [I may drop this section, given that its predictive value has been lower than that of just rolling a die.)
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I have been so busy enjoying life and processing this radical perspective change thing that I have totally failed to get ahead on work before wiscon. in fact, I m a half day behind already, and am too fucking distracted to deal with it. I keep trying tho
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posted by ![[syndicated profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png)
transgriot_feed at 05:00pm on 2013-05-22
transgriot_feed at 05:00pm on 2013-05-22
The HuffPo Gay Voices page posted a May 16 article about the upcoming TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly, a groundbreaking interdisciplinary academic journal which will debut in 2014.It will be co-authored by Dr. Susan Stryker (University of Arizona) and Dr. Paisley Currah (CUNY-Brooklyn) and will be published through a collaboration with Duke University Press.
The article briefly touched on the Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the TSQ project which is more than halfway to achieving its fundraising goal.of $20,000 by June 13.
But all that positive news in the article was ruined by the bathroom sign picture that was used to illustrate it.
Seriously? All the directions that you could have gone to illustrate this post up to and including adding photos of Dr Stryker and Dr. Currah or the Transgender Studies Quarterly logo as I have done here, and you inject the bathroom meme? We're working hard in the trans community to permanently destroy the bathroom meme, not perpetuate it.
We expect and get this kind of shady crap from misguided people in the mainstream media, but as fellow travelers in the TBLG rights movement and the rainbow community media you should know better.
Granted, this may have been an oversight in terms of you not realizing the unintended message you sent by using that picture with this article, but this is still unacceptable.
What next HuffPo Gay Voices? Are you going to use a picture of a plate of fried chicken to illustrate a story about a Black transperson?
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- Coming bank holiday weekend. I'm planning to be in Cambridge and specifically at the last day of the Beer Festival on Saturday. Who else is going to be there? I may be free Sunday evening or Monday, if anyone wants to get together?
- 14th-16th June: I'm returning from travels with jack late on Thursday evening 13th. Would anyone like to see us either in London or Cambridge on the Friday or, more likely, during the weekend? If people can offer crash space in London Thursday night and hang out on Friday that would be perfect, but most likely we'll end up heading back to Cambridge to recover from travelling.
- The first crop of doctorlings whom I've personally taught are graduating in July. This is slightly terrifying, knowing that kids I remember as callow second years are going to be actual doctors in just a few weeks! Anyway, the Medical School have very kindly invited me to represent the school in the formal academic procession. This is the first opportunity I've had to wear my PhD gown in a professional capacity (first academic dress occasion since my own graduation).
Although they've changed this now, when I graduated Scottish universities mostly didn't have caps, so I have to process bare-headed.pseudomonas came up with the brilliant suggestion that I could make up for this by getting hair-falls. Dundee colours are black and something called "Stewart blue" which is basically as near to royal / liturgical blue as they could get away with without actually being royalty or the Virgin Mary. I am really struggling to translate the official British Colour Council code (BCC149) into a modern digital code, but it's something close to #002266. And a secondary colour of eggshell blue which is approx #0088ff. Does anyone who knows heraldry or any relevant aspect of formal colour stuff know how to get a more precise identification? And does anyone have any recs for where I might order hair-falls in my academic colours?
( tech )
acquisitive
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posted by transgriot_feed at 12:00pm on 2013-05-22
transgriot_feed at 12:00pm on 2013-05-22
Fallon Fox will return to mixed martial arts action on Friday and make a little MMA history in the process when she does so. When the undefeated (2-0) Fox steps into the Octagon at the BankUnited Center on the University of Miami campus against Allana Jones she will be participating in the first nationally televised bout (AXS-TV) of the Championship Fighting Alliance Series.
It's the first bout she's participated in since the revelation in March the undefeated Fox is a girl like us and the transphobically ignorant reactions to the news it triggered in MMA world that included UFC women's champ Ronda Rousey.
CFA president Jorge de la Noval featured the 37 year old Fox on a card in March before finding out she was trans when he got a call from the commission. He stands by his decision to feature her on Friday night’s card and supports her 100 percent.
“I’ve been discriminated many times because I’m Hispanic,” de la Noval said to the Miami Herald. “People have been discriminated through the years because of color, sexual preference, and that’s something I’m completely against. As long as she’s got her license, and doctors approved her to fight as a female, I was fine with it. I’ve gotten a lot of calls, mostly negative, but I stick with my decision no matter what the outcome is.
I’m just glad she’s fighting for the CFA this Friday.”
So are we in the trans community, Jorge.
Best of luck Fallon on Friday night. Your best revenge for all the drama you've been through since March is to just keep winning. You have an ever growing legion of fans inside and outside the trans community that wish you nothing but success.
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posted by catchingasecondwind_feed at 09:22am on 2013-05-22
catchingasecondwind_feed at 09:22am on 2013-05-22I started out my marriage with a pretty clean house (and amazing gardens... if I may say so myself). When Big Boy came along, I took a lot of pride in having a baby / toddler / small child yet still managed a clean house.
Then, the house starts slipping. As another child was added, and a longer commute, and a bigger yard..... And, then there is my theory that it was easier to keep a clean house when we were both working full time and the kids were in school daycare all day. Much easier, in fact, because there was never anyone here to mess it up.
So, over the past couple of years, my house has been falling apart. The gardens are full of weeks, the bathrooms are a mess. It has been horrible.
BUT, I was never 'that person'. The person with piles of laundry all over the house waiting to be folded. I never had the overflowing baskets of clean clothes waiting to be folded. I never had piles of laundry waiting to be put away. No, I may have had my whole home crashing down around me but the laundry was always folded and put away right away.
Then, one day, I put the clean clothes in a basket to be folded later so that I could use the dryer for the next load. I am not really sure what happened after that. But, right now, as we speak, I have basket of clean clothes scattered throughout the house, only to be rivaled by the piles of dirty clothes waiting for the machine. Each morning finds us engaged in scavenger hunt for clean clothes amongst the baskets and piles. I confess, yesterday, I actually told Big Boy to find a "no so dirty" pair of shorts to wear to school.
I even ordered more bras yesterday (yes, when you are an big girl, like me, you have to order bras on the internet) because I can never find mine. I am considering picking up a couple more laundry baskets today so I have a place to store all my clothes, since the baskets I have are overflowing.
Everything is wrinkled beyond belief, causing even more work. Clean clothes are falling over into piles of dirty clothes so you can no longer tell what has been washed. Pets are sleeping in the baskets, shedding their fur on the clothes.
So, today, I am declaring "Laundry Day". I am doing absolutely nothing today except washing, folding and putting away laundry and working on my paper for my college class. Yes, I have a big paper due I the middle of all this mess. But, I figure that I can research and write while loads are running.
I refuse to let my husband distract me (doesn't go to work until 2:00), I won't worry about if and when the kids eat dinner or do their homework. I will try to ignore the HUGE mess Lil' Bit made in her room last night (when she was trying to help by pulling all the books off her bookcase to sort them) I will let nothing distract me from my mission. If you know me in real life, do not call me today, I will not answer.
I will come back to the blog one more time with a report on my success or failure.
Then, the house starts slipping. As another child was added, and a longer commute, and a bigger yard..... And, then there is my theory that it was easier to keep a clean house when we were both working full time and the kids were in school daycare all day. Much easier, in fact, because there was never anyone here to mess it up.
So, over the past couple of years, my house has been falling apart. The gardens are full of weeks, the bathrooms are a mess. It has been horrible.
BUT, I was never 'that person'. The person with piles of laundry all over the house waiting to be folded. I never had the overflowing baskets of clean clothes waiting to be folded. I never had piles of laundry waiting to be put away. No, I may have had my whole home crashing down around me but the laundry was always folded and put away right away.
Then, one day, I put the clean clothes in a basket to be folded later so that I could use the dryer for the next load. I am not really sure what happened after that. But, right now, as we speak, I have basket of clean clothes scattered throughout the house, only to be rivaled by the piles of dirty clothes waiting for the machine. Each morning finds us engaged in scavenger hunt for clean clothes amongst the baskets and piles. I confess, yesterday, I actually told Big Boy to find a "no so dirty" pair of shorts to wear to school.
I even ordered more bras yesterday (yes, when you are an big girl, like me, you have to order bras on the internet) because I can never find mine. I am considering picking up a couple more laundry baskets today so I have a place to store all my clothes, since the baskets I have are overflowing.
Everything is wrinkled beyond belief, causing even more work. Clean clothes are falling over into piles of dirty clothes so you can no longer tell what has been washed. Pets are sleeping in the baskets, shedding their fur on the clothes.
So, today, I am declaring "Laundry Day". I am doing absolutely nothing today except washing, folding and putting away laundry and working on my paper for my college class. Yes, I have a big paper due I the middle of all this mess. But, I figure that I can research and write while loads are running.
I refuse to let my husband distract me (doesn't go to work until 2:00), I won't worry about if and when the kids eat dinner or do their homework. I will try to ignore the HUGE mess Lil' Bit made in her room last night (when she was trying to help by pulling all the books off her bookcase to sort them) I will let nothing distract me from my mission. If you know me in real life, do not call me today, I will not answer.
I will come back to the blog one more time with a report on my success or failure.
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Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pirates of Venus opens by tying together several of Burroughs' worlds. A friend of the narrator's calls him to say he has received a message from Pellucidar; the friend had intended to search for a missing person, but Tarzan had "persuaded him of the folly of such an undertaking." He then hears from a person who is planning a trip to Mars. He doesn't seem likely to meet John Carter in this book, though.
The space traveler takes off in a vehicle which reaches 7 miles a second by the end of the runway; this somehow doesn't crush him to death, and no mention is made of the damage done by the ground zero shock wave. For all his planning, he somehow didn't notice his course would barely miss the moon; the moon's gravity slings him into a completely new trajectory, which by pure chance takes him to Venus. Not just toward Venus, but grazing its atmosphere so that he can parachute out. This is a 1932 book, so it would be unfair to point out Venus's atmosphere would kill a person in seconds; that's minor by comparison.
I continue reading, secure in the knowledge that the book can't get any sillier ... or can it?
The space traveler takes off in a vehicle which reaches 7 miles a second by the end of the runway; this somehow doesn't crush him to death, and no mention is made of the damage done by the ground zero shock wave. For all his planning, he somehow didn't notice his course would barely miss the moon; the moon's gravity slings him into a completely new trajectory, which by pure chance takes him to Venus. Not just toward Venus, but grazing its atmosphere so that he can parachute out. This is a 1932 book, so it would be unfair to point out Venus's atmosphere would kill a person in seconds; that's minor by comparison.
I continue reading, secure in the knowledge that the book can't get any sillier ... or can it?
amused
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Lately I've been watching some episodes online of Star Trek: The New Voyages. It's very good video fanfic, much better than Abrams' first attempt. (I haven't seen the second, and nothing I've heard makes me want to.) As with the original series, there are obvious problems, but the spirit and imaginativeness allow a lot to be forgiven.
An episode I just watched involved a familiar situation: Scotty had to crawl into a Jeffries tube to fix something that threatened to destroy the ship. In this case, high radiation levels made it very dangerous. The repair itself was very simple; its simplicity was a plot point. I found myself thinking, "Why don't they just send a robot in to do it? Oh, wait — this is science fiction, not real life."
An episode I just watched involved a familiar situation: Scotty had to crawl into a Jeffries tube to fix something that threatened to destroy the ship. In this case, high radiation levels made it very dangerous. The repair itself was very simple; its simplicity was a plot point. I found myself thinking, "Why don't they just send a robot in to do it? Oh, wait — this is science fiction, not real life."
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posted by transgriot_feed at 07:00am on 2013-05-22
transgriot_feed at 07:00am on 2013-05-22
“It takes no compromise to give people their rights...it takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression.” ― Harvey Milk
Today would have been the 83rd birthday of Harvey Milk, the iconic civil rights leader who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California when he ran for and won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.
His June 24, 1977 'You've Got To Have Hope' speech that announced his run for supervisor is still as timely, eloquent and relevant today as it was when he first delivered it.
He was only in office for eleven months until his and Mayor George Moscone's assassinations by former supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978 but was responsible for passing a stringent gay rights ordinance in the city.
His May 22 birthday is now celebrated in the state of California as an unofficial holiday and Harvey Milk Day events have begun to spring up in various cities around the country to celebrate the life of this iconic leader.
Happy birthday Harvey! We could use a lot more visionary people like you in the 21st century LGBT community.
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If I ever meet the Wizard of Oz, I'll ask him to turn me into a spider. Here's a song about that.
I would hurry to the kitchen
with pedipalps a-twitching,
to see what I could get.
And when there I would eat all
the insides of every beetle,
if I had a spinneret.
And that's only the beginning;
it sets my head a-spinning
to see them in my net.
To the edge I would scarper
where I'd pluck it like a harper
if I had a spinneret.
Oh, I could catch the fly
that ventured near my web,
then another as the hunger starts to ebb.
I'd be an arthropod celeb.
And I'd tell the tale with recaps
from more than seven kneecaps
to everyone I met.
And I'd be the provider
of a web for every spider
if I had a spinneret.
I would hurry to the kitchen
with pedipalps a-twitching,
to see what I could get.
And when there I would eat all
the insides of every beetle,
if I had a spinneret.
And that's only the beginning;
it sets my head a-spinning
to see them in my net.
To the edge I would scarper
where I'd pluck it like a harper
if I had a spinneret.
Oh, I could catch the fly
that ventured near my web,
then another as the hunger starts to ebb.
I'd be an arthropod celeb.
And I'd tell the tale with recaps
from more than seven kneecaps
to everyone I met.
And I'd be the provider
of a web for every spider
if I had a spinneret.
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posted by transgriot_feed at 12:01am on 2013-05-22
transgriot_feed at 12:01am on 2013-05-22
This is a message faith based homophobes and transphobes here in the USA, Bermuda and the rest of the world definitely need to hear. Bermuda has recently tabled an amendment to its 1981 Human Rights Act that would add sexual orientation (but not gender identity) as a protected class against discrimination on the island.
Predictably Bermuda's faith based haters let fly on Friday with a statement that is purported to express the position of the AME church about the pending legislation, but upon further review it was determined that the statement was unauthorized and does not represent their official position on the 2013 Human Rights Amendment.
“The AME Church opposes legislation that threatens the traditional family structure and erodes Bermuda society as a whole. This amendment does both.
“Since the Bible is clear that a relationship involving sexual intimacy is to be between a man and awoman within the bounds of marriage, legislation that endorses homosexuality violates God’s Word and gives up a Christian’s conscientious obligation to obey it.
“The AME Church believes that all people are made in God’s image, including those affected by same sex attraction. The Church will defend human dignity because of the Church’s commitment to godly principles. However, the AME Church unapologetically resists this amendment and appeals to those of like-mind to do the same.”
On Sunday Rev. Nicholas Tweed, the pastor of St. Paul AME Church in Hamilton blasted that statement from his pulpit and told his congregation in his sermon that it is unchristian to deny people their rights as human beings..
“The last time I checked, I don’t recall Jesus saying that some sin is better or more acceptable than other sin,” said Rev. Tweed. “I don’t recall Jesus saying it’s okay to lie but for heaven’s sake, don’t be lesbian.
“I don’t recall a text saying it’s okay to drink and be a whoremonger, just don’t be gay.”
The AME church also has a long history of social justice activism, and Rev. Tweed's father, the Rev. Dr. Kingsley Tweed was one of the leaders of a 1959 movie theater boycott that ended formal segregation in Bermuda
According to the Bermuda Royal Gazette, Rev Tweed's sermon also contained some pointed criticisms of the May 16 national gathering for prayer.comments of Bishop Lloyd Duncan of the New Testament Church of God, Duncan implored the Government “to exercise biblical caution, and spiritual restraint,” referring to its intention to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination as saying it would be a “lethal mistake.”
The AME church also has a long history of social justice activism, and Rev. Tweed's father, the Rev. Dr. Kingsley Tweed was one of the leaders of a 1959 movie theater boycott that ended formal segregation in Bermuda
According to the Bermuda Royal Gazette, Rev Tweed's sermon also contained some pointed criticisms of the May 16 national gathering for prayer.comments of Bishop Lloyd Duncan of the New Testament Church of God, Duncan implored the Government “to exercise biblical caution, and spiritual restraint,” referring to its intention to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination as saying it would be a “lethal mistake.”
Rev. Tweed said: “We can see the irony of our discomfort. For example this past week, we saw celebrated a great gathering which declared to Bermuda that we were united in prayer. But the irony is that everybody wasn’t invited. I didn’t see no Muslims there, I didn’t see any Buddhists there or folks that may practice other religions that have an equal place in the social fabric of Bermuda
“In other words, it was a loose conglomerate of folk that at least in theory share the same point of view. And then the same folk that gathered together to declare the sins of their fragmentation and disunity were the same folk that used the opportunity designed to bring us together, to drive the nails and wedges of deeper fractures in our community by sending a message to say that we don’t believe that everybody ought to be included or protected by the Human Rights bill.
“The criteria for being protected is not really whether you are black, white, gay, straight, transgender, crossdresser; the criteria is if you are human, you ought to be protected and as folks that have been the victims of over 300 years of discrimination, it's a strange irony that we cannot get together even with the folks that was discriminating against us and talk about who shouldn’t be in.”
Preach Rev. Tweed, preach!
Preach Rev. Tweed, preach!
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May 21st, 2013
posted by synecdochic at 10:32pm on 2013-05-21 under feline art gallery
synecdochic at 10:32pm on 2013-05-21 under feline art gallerythe artist has come to terms with the fact that we've hidden away all his materials and is willing to deign to lower himself to more traditional media.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
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At least until Saturday. Anne and I think it rocks -- good voice acting, fast-moving tight script, good animation, Black Widow's cheekbones -- what else do you want?
There are no comments on this entry. (Reply.)
![[site community profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
I'll donate $100 to the Electronic Freedom Foundation in the name of anyone who gets Bug 4527 (crossposting Markdown results in bare syntax on remote site) fixed, payable when the fix shows up in production ;)
I would really like to start using Markdown. Unfortunately most of my friends are not cool enough to use Dreamwidth, so I am dependent on crossposting, so this issue makes Markdown use impossible for me. It should be a very small patch; my guess when I looked at it was under 10 lines, though proper error-handling and comments and such will bump it up some.
I would really like to start using Markdown. Unfortunately most of my friends are not cool enough to use Dreamwidth, so I am dependent on crossposting, so this issue makes Markdown use impossible for me. It should be a very small patch; my guess when I looked at it was under 10 lines, though proper error-handling and comments and such will bump it up some.
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{looks under the heaps of paper on desk}
{looks in the patent portfolio 3-ring binder}
{picks up notebooks and shakes them, flips pages rapidly to look between pages}
{upends pen holders}
{peers into trash can suspiciously}
{squints into the fan grid of the server boxen}
{walks into the actual lab and checks in electrolyte bottles}
Where did my concentration and motivation go, again?
{looks in the patent portfolio 3-ring binder}
{picks up notebooks and shakes them, flips pages rapidly to look between pages}
{upends pen holders}
{peers into trash can suspiciously}
{squints into the fan grid of the server boxen}
{walks into the actual lab and checks in electrolyte bottles}
Where did my concentration and motivation go, again?
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I had a need for a new, different printer. Ink jet printers produce beautiful images, but they're delicate and run and smear when wet. Worse, if I only use the printer occasionally, the nozzles
clog and I use a lot of expensive ink getting them working again.
If I want to print gold or silver foil, I use my ancient
Alps MD-5000,
which isn't supported by modern computers.
So I elected to buy a Canon Selphy ES-30 which is a compact dye sublimation photo printer that can also print gold and silver foil. It was listed as having Macintosh support, which is good because I don't do windows. It's a cute little thing, and takes its printing supplies as little cartridges that contain both the paper and the dye sub ink sheets. This makes it easy to switch between different media, and ensures that the ink and paper stay in synch and are compatible. They're specialized enough that they'll only ever be available from Canon, and they're not particularly cheap. But that's fine, it's cost effective for my occasional use.
But then it turns out that the Macintosh support is only partial - you can print color or black and white, but no gold or silver foil. It is my opinion that if you claim to "support" a computer for a product, that you support all the product's capabilities. Otherwise, it's partial support at best, and this should be stated clearly in all sales literature. Otherwise, you are lying to me, and I do not appreciate being lied to.
I waited a while to see if there would be an update that would add foil support, but none was forthcoming. Then I wrote Canon and asked if they would send me the protocol, so I could implement this myself.
They refused, saying the information was proprietary. What? Why? You're not selling printer drivers, you're selling printers, or more to the point, you're selling printer supplies. The more people who can use your printers, the more printers and supplies you will sell. Keeping the protocol a secret is nonsense. I offered to sign an NDA, but no reply at all. I realize that companies avoid giving out technical information because it might lead to more support questions. I explained that I would not ask for further support, nor use the information in a way that would cause this to happen.
Do you know what would have happened, if you had furnished the interface specification? I would have extended the existing Gutenprint Canon Selphy support to include the ES-30, including its metal foil printing capabilities. I would have provided my changes back to the Gutenprint project for inclusion in their core software. This would have given Canon ES-30 support to Linux and BSD users, and since Apple uses Gutenprint to provide their third-party printer drivers, you would have gotten Macintosh support for free. Better yet, customer support for this driver would have come from the Gutenprint project and Apple — saving you support money. I would have written a positive review of the printer, and all my adoring readers would have gone out and bought them. The underserved Macintosh, Linux, and BSD communities would have bought the now-supported printer, and supplies for it. As the cartridges are not easy to replicate (unlike refilling inkjet cartridges), you would have had a solid revenue stream for years to come, that no one could take away from you. You would have enjoyed a positive mindshare in a large, geeky customer base - and their friends, families, and employers.
But no. You decided to take the low road, keep things secret for no reason, and now you're stuck with unpreferred vendor status. I'll buy my cameræ from Nikon, Fuji, and Olympus. I'll buy my printers from Epson and HP. And I'll tell all my friends how you refused to play nice.
Your pointless corporate decision will end up costing you a surprising amount of lost revenue over the years.
bitchy
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posted by transgriot_feed at 01:00pm on 2013-05-21
transgriot_feed at 01:00pm on 2013-05-21
The pressure is mounting on Archbishop Michael Sheehan and Superintendent Murphy in this now viral story of Albuquerque, NM St. Pius High School senior Damian Garcia's simple request to walk in his graduation in a black cap and gown being denied. Received an e-mail from Torrey Moorman who spearheaded the MoveOn.org petition on Damian's behalf that has now garnered as of the moment I'm compiling this post 27,072 signatures toward their new goal of 30,000 signatures.
Monica;
We have called Superintendent Murphy's phone and said: "We want you to know that we hold you and the entire Archdiocese in the Light. We are fully aware of how difficult this must be for Archbishop Sheehan who grew up being taught if you have a penis you are a boy, and if you have a vagina you are a girl."
"Unfortunately, just as the human genome project has proven unequivocally that there is no genetic variation between the races, science is proving gender and sexuality are not so simply defined. We fully appreciate that growth is uncomfortable and extremely difficult."
"William posted a photo stating: If you want to change, you have to be willing to be uncomfortable. All growth is uncomfortable, whether it is the growing pains of bones growing faster than muscle, or the pain of accepting a new definition of human sexuality. We respect your difficulties and hold you in love and Light as you go through this difficult time. We have faith that Archbishop Sheehan will make the right decision in Christ's love: To allow Damian to walk with his graduating class in black robes."
We encourage everyone to give Archbishop Sheehan and Superintendent Murphy this message. The message that decisions made out of love, instead of fear, pave the way to a loving and peaceful planet.
Sincerely,
The Moorman family, Cat Provost, and the Garcia family
All the school and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe had to do was simply let Damian walk. To prevent such drama in the future they need to consider the possibility of having every future graduate of St. Pius High wear the same color cap and gowns.
But nope, since the Roman Catholic Church has been conducting a decade long holy war aimed at trans people and the transphobia injected into the Vatican by Paul McHugh has now filtered down the chain of command from Rome, they now have a PR mess on their hands.
It also makes them look like bigoted and petty faith based trans oppressors to Albuquerque and the rest of the world and reinforces the disturbing decade long pattern of the Roman Catholic Church being hostile to trans people.
As I said in the comment I posted when I signed the petition:
This is a no brainer situation. Damian identifies as a male, has been presenting as one for over a year, and his classmates, faculty and family recognize him as one.
You only graduate from high school once, so why not let Damian walk in the black male gown?
You still have time to change that negative perception by letting Damian walk in a black cap and gown.
But the clock's ticking..
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posted by madfilkentist at 01:18pm on 2013-05-21 under news
madfilkentist at 01:18pm on 2013-05-21 under newsNASA has issued a grant for the development of 3-D printing of food. Think of it as the first crude version of Star Trek's food replicator.
A previous owner planted lilies of the valley along the east wall of the house and they continue to thrive with zero maintenance; that's my favorite kind of garden plant. They're blooming now, filling the house with their morning-sun-warmed scent through the (finally) opened windows. It's one of my favorite features living here. Sadly, by the time I get back the house will instead be being filled with pine pollen, one of my least favorite features... along with the pine-seed bugs, ants, wood roaches, and, of course, the ticks and mosquitoes. Ah, the joys of wetland living.
Although I expect to be an absentee landholder for much of the coming summer, I've planted a few veggies to maintain a semblance of normalcy. ( The run-down. )
I expect to make up this season's veggie shortfalls at farmers' markets and farmstands, but there's nothing like a fresh-picked, sun-warmed tomato. Nice to have something to look forward to.
Although I expect to be an absentee landholder for much of the coming summer, I've planted a few veggies to maintain a semblance of normalcy. ( The run-down. )
I expect to make up this season's veggie shortfalls at farmers' markets and farmstands, but there's nothing like a fresh-picked, sun-warmed tomato. Nice to have something to look forward to.
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Some time last week, I was in a bad mood such that what I felt like doing was spending hours playing simple, repetitive computer games. But honestly doing that does not really make me feel better, except very very short term, it just makes me annoyed at myself for wasting a lot of time on pointless things. So I had the brain-wave of deciding to sit down and work out what it is exactly that I crave from computer games when I'm in that kind of jangly bad mood. I concluded that I wanted to be doing something sufficiently difficult to give me a sense of accomplishment, but easy enough that if I concentrated I'd have a pretty good chance of succeeding. And I wanted lots and lots of immediate feedback. I figured out that a more productive activity that meets that need is programming.
So I took the plunge and asked to get my Dreamhack (DW development environment) reactivated after a three-year hiatus, and started working on a really small styles bug. ( volunteering for DW )
The other reason this is important to me is to keep me empathizing with learners.![[twitter.com profile]](http://twitter.com/favicon.ico)
mixosaurus made a really powerful blog post about respectful and compassionate teaching. Kat is right on the money that the sort of people who become academics
So learning new skills is good for me as a teacher, as well as being satisfying. I've revived my dev journal atlivredor to document some of my learning process, and since I have it I'll probably throw the baking in there as well, and maybe some of my very beginner-ish Arabic, though I generally know how to learn languages so I have less need to work on the meta-cognition stuff there. I strongly expect that 99% of people will find this detailed documentation totally boring, which is why I'm hiving it off into a separate journal. But I'm also mentioning it just in case you have the exact mindset where you find watching people learning new things interesting, and if you do you're welcome to watch the dev journal.
And if you have wishes for DW, well. I am not quite at the level where I can scratch my own, or my friends', itches yet, but I'm hoping to get there, at least if we're talking small itches. I mean, ideally what I would like to do is write a couple of smartphone clients and a decent front-end for the image hosting and a tool for exporting journals properly with comments and maybe something to import from Tumblr before Yahoo screw the site up beyond repair. But those are way beyond my capability and likely to remain so, because this is always going to be a hobby for me, I don't have a thousand hours to actually become an expert.
However, what I can do is a whole bunch of things related to the back-end that generates journal appearances. The most complicated things I've done so far are writing the Page Summary module, and writing code that mainly affects designers rather than end users to do with the option to colour-code entries on your reading page depending who posted them. Certainly, if there's a colour combination or a display option that you wish existed, there's a good chance I can make it happen. Note that I am not a web-designer by any stretch of the imagination, but what I can do is implement someone else's aesthetic concept in a format that can be made into an official style on Dreamwidth.
In order to be able to do that it has to be something with a licence that DW can use; if you designed something yourself you need to submit a CLA before it can be incorporated, if it's someone else's design then it needs to be public domain or under an appropriate licence. This means that I can't make official DW layouts with, you know, Game of Thrones wallpaper, and it also means that I can't make a Dreamwidth version of LJ Flexible Squares, which is a very common request. What I can do is take CSS-based layouts that modify Flexible Squares, and apply them to Dreamwidth's Tabula Rasa, because actually DW has more flexibility for styling with CSS than LJ ever did, it's just not very well publicized.
So tell me, next time I am in a bad mood and want to spend an evening programming, what can I do for you?
So I took the plunge and asked to get my Dreamhack (DW development environment) reactivated after a three-year hiatus, and started working on a really small styles bug. ( volunteering for DW )
The other reason this is important to me is to keep me empathizing with learners.
may never have been crushingly bad at any academic subject, whereas by definition we're going to be teaching people with a range of abilities and levels of motivation, not just those who excel and love the subject and go on to become experts in our fields. It's really, really good for me to remember what it feels like to be a beginner, to be too scared of making mistakes to actually make progress. I know I have students who find, say, immunology as arcane and jargon-filled and arbitrary as I'm finding Git right now (like I said, the programming is going fine so far, it's the version control I'm struggling with). And they're not "stupid" and they're not deliberately refusing to try just to be awkward, they're beginners, or they're people who have succeeded at somewhat related skills (such as A-Level biology) but find that this particular intellectual field doesn't quite fit with the way their brain works.
So learning new skills is good for me as a teacher, as well as being satisfying. I've revived my dev journal at
livredor to document some of my learning process, and since I have it I'll probably throw the baking in there as well, and maybe some of my very beginner-ish Arabic, though I generally know how to learn languages so I have less need to work on the meta-cognition stuff there. I strongly expect that 99% of people will find this detailed documentation totally boring, which is why I'm hiving it off into a separate journal. But I'm also mentioning it just in case you have the exact mindset where you find watching people learning new things interesting, and if you do you're welcome to watch the dev journal. And if you have wishes for DW, well. I am not quite at the level where I can scratch my own, or my friends', itches yet, but I'm hoping to get there, at least if we're talking small itches. I mean, ideally what I would like to do is write a couple of smartphone clients and a decent front-end for the image hosting and a tool for exporting journals properly with comments and maybe something to import from Tumblr before Yahoo screw the site up beyond repair. But those are way beyond my capability and likely to remain so, because this is always going to be a hobby for me, I don't have a thousand hours to actually become an expert.
However, what I can do is a whole bunch of things related to the back-end that generates journal appearances. The most complicated things I've done so far are writing the Page Summary module, and writing code that mainly affects designers rather than end users to do with the option to colour-code entries on your reading page depending who posted them. Certainly, if there's a colour combination or a display option that you wish existed, there's a good chance I can make it happen. Note that I am not a web-designer by any stretch of the imagination, but what I can do is implement someone else's aesthetic concept in a format that can be made into an official style on Dreamwidth.
In order to be able to do that it has to be something with a licence that DW can use; if you designed something yourself you need to submit a CLA before it can be incorporated, if it's someone else's design then it needs to be public domain or under an appropriate licence. This means that I can't make official DW layouts with, you know, Game of Thrones wallpaper, and it also means that I can't make a Dreamwidth version of LJ Flexible Squares, which is a very common request. What I can do is take CSS-based layouts that modify Flexible Squares, and apply them to Dreamwidth's Tabula Rasa, because actually DW has more flexibility for styling with CSS than LJ ever did, it's just not very well publicized.
So tell me, next time I am in a bad mood and want to spend an evening programming, what can I do for you?
productive
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posted by transgriot_feed at 06:00am on 2013-05-21
transgriot_feed at 06:00am on 2013-05-21
I had an interesting conversation with Samantha Master the other day about getting HBCU's to recognize that Black TBLG students exist. HBCU law schools are ahead of the game when it comes to having non discrimination policies that included gender identity and expression but the HBCU main campuses that host these law schools surprisingly don't.
We discussed how it would be in their best short and long term interests to ensure their campuses were open, inclusive and affirming places for TBLG students and they needed to get busy enacting policies and procedures to make that happen. And yes, as a group they also needed to improve on the sorry situation of having only one of the 105 HBCU's (Bowie State University) having a dedicated LGBT center on campus.
Our conversation turned to transteen Calliope Wong and her recently being turned down twice by Smith College for enrollment while hypocritically allowing transmen to matriculate on campus if they transition after they have been admitted. Smith College according to Dean of Admissions Debra Shaver and HuffPo Gay Voices has put together a committee to look at the issues that affect trans applicants.
The Smith committee will begin its work at the start of the 2013-14 academic year in September and includes students. The students involved on this committee have indicated that Smith would stop using the gender marker on FAFSA applications when evaluating trans students for admission.
While I hope the situation at Smith is substantive change and has a positive resolution for future trans applicants to the college, mine and Samantha's HBCU centric discussion put me in 'What if?' hard solid thinking mode.
What would happen if you flipped the racial script and instead of Calliope Wong, had a bright African-American trans feminine student named Kendra Nicole Williams in this mix? Kendra wants to attend the elite African-American women's HBCU Spelman College because it's her dream school and applies. She transitioned at age 14 and has a supportive family who helped her live her trans teen feminine life. Kendra excelled academically in her high school and has begun the process of changing her identity documents.
But because her family doesn't have a spare $20K in the bank genital surgery is out of the question right now because they see it as a bigger priority to use whatever extra money they have to help Kendra get the quality college education she needs.
How would Spelman handle that situation I just outlined? Would Kendra be accepted into the Spelman Class of 2017 with open arms or would they fumble the ball just as badly as Smith did?
Atlanta based Spelman, which was founded in 1881, is one of the oldest historically Black women's colleges in the nation. I chose Spelman for this thought exercise because it is analogous in its elite status to Smith. in addition to it being among the nation's top ten best women's colleges as ranked by Forbes magazine, it has prestigious notable alumni and faculty.
For the sake of this exercise in hard solid thinking, let's assume Spelman fumbled the ball and refused to admit Kendra for the same reason Smith did. It denied admission to Kendra based on a mismatched FAFSA gender code. How much media negativity do you think Spelman would get right now because of that decision?
I submit it would be ten times worse than what Smith got.
In those media stories roasting Spelman over the coals you would see the ''Blacks are more homophobic' meme repeatedly come up in whatever stores they chose to write about it in addition to pointing out they are across the street from all-male Morehouse College and talking about its homophobic fails over the years.
The mainstream media seems to take perverse pleasure in flipping the journalistic middle finger at POC trans women, and you can bet their penchant for doing so would come into play here.
Don't even get me started about the Black gossip blogosphere and the transphobic ignorance they gleefully display on a regular basis. You can count on a few hip hop formatted radio station morning shows jumping into this transphobic media mix and yours truly having to spend a few weeks putting some outlets on blast for the negative and sensationalistic reporting that some newspapers of record would aim at Kendra just for grins in addition to asking Spelman what's up with not admitting Kendra?
And to tweak the hard solid thinking on trans issues still further, what if the Kendra student in my earlier example was a cis female who enrolls and a year later transitions to male? I have heard of this situation occurring at Smith and other Seven Sisters institutions but haven't heard if it has occurred at Spelman yet.
What would Spelman do when (not if) that happens? Do they have non-discrimination policies and support structures in place to make it a welcoming environment for that now transmasculine student?
So let's end the 'What If' exercise for now and move on to the known quantities about Spelman. Beverly Daniel Tatum, the current Spelman president has a well earned reputation of being a supportive ally on the SGL issues. Spelman has been ahead of the curve in terms of being a role model for HBCU's that embrace tackling LGBT issues.
In addition to Spelman having AFREKETE, the highly regarded LGBT and ally organization on its campus, it was the host campus for the groundbreaking Audre Lorde Historically Black College and University Summit on April 29, 2011. The one day summit was spearheaded by Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, the founding director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center, attended by representatives of nine HBCU campuses from across the nation and was enthusiastically supported by President Tatum.
It focused on LGBT issues within African-American and HBCU communities and included a session on LGBT organizing paneled by the Human Rights Campaign's Deputy Director for Diversity Donna Payne and National Black Justice Coalition CEO Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks.
But I don't know as of yet what President Tatum's stances are concerning trans issues and I would love to have that conversation with her. Spelman despite being the undisputed leader on LGBT issues in HBCU collegiate world still as of this writing doesn't have a dedicated LGBT resource center on its campus like Bowie State does..
I believe that in my earlier example, based on the groundbreaking work that Spelman is already doing that my fictional trans student Kendra would be admitted. She might have a few issues she'd have to deal with like what would happen if she wanted to pledge one of the Divine Nine sororities on campus or the possibility of somebody transphobically tripping in the dorms because of her pre-operative status, but in terms of getting a quality education in an HBCU setting as a trans student, she'd probably be in the best place for it on paper.
Trans students will bring some issues to the table that may seems daunting to a women's college but are manageable with thoughtful preparation, clear enforced policies and procedures, and established support systems. Most importantly, they have administrations that make it crystal clear discrimination aimed at trans and SGL students will not be tolerated.
What I said to close out my 'HBCU's Better Recognize Black TBLG Students Exist' post still applies a year later. HBCU's need to send the unmistakable message to their faculty, current and future students, alumni, and the communities they serve that discrimination against LGBT students on HBCU campuses will not be tolerated. HBCU's need to show they have inclusive and welcoming campuses, and they are willing to include LGBT students in their ongoing missions to uplift the race through educational achievement.
I believe that Spelman and the other Black HBCU women's colleges such as Bennett are taking what happened recently at Smith as a cautionary tale. I hope they are engaging in hard solid thinking to avoid the public relations nightmare Smith fell into because of the lack of admissions procedures and policies in place for trans feminine students.
Based on the work they've already done, I'm confident Spelman will be prepared for the inevitable day when a Black trans woman comes application in hand to fulfill her dream of getting an education on their distinguished HBCU campus and become one of the exceptional Black women Spelman College has produced for over a century.
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posted by transgriot_feed at 12:00am on 2013-05-21
transgriot_feed at 12:00am on 2013-05-21
We TBLG Texans just keep finding ways to kill these anti-trans and anti-LGB bills in the Lone Star State despite the best efforts of our conservafools and Teapublican legislative members to pass them.
I received the good news about SB 1218 being on life support on Saturday morning, but just to be sure I wanted to wait until the midnight deadline passed until I started doing the happy dance about its demise.
Last year it was SB 723, and this year it was SB 1218. While I was concerned after hearing this unjust bill passed out of the Texas Senate, I knew one thing in the Texas trans community's favor was this bill may not have enough time to go through the legislative process in the Texas House.
I was also hoping that the great karma we've lately had concerning international trans marriage wins in Malta and Hong Kong would rub off on us here, too
The unjust bill had to get passed out the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee on which we had several powerful allies. It's a nine member committee, so they need six members to constitute a quorum to conduct official business. SB1218 also had the hurdle of if it had passed out of committee it had to do so yesterday and be placed on the House calendar by midnight May 21 or it died for the session.
So ding dong, that anti-trans bill is dead. We get to exhale, celebrate for a minute, and then prepare for the Teahadists to come after trans Texans ability to marry again in the 2015 session unless they lose control of one or both chambers in the 2014 election cycle, the governor's chair or all of the above.
I suggest y'all get busy registering people to vote in the 2014 election cycle now so we can take the Texas legislature back and pass some progressive legislation in the 84th Texas legislature when it's gaveled into session in January 2015.
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posted by transgriot_feed at 01:00am on 2013-05-21
transgriot_feed at 01:00am on 2013-05-21
The White House will honor ten TBLG officials on Harvey Milk Day and one of them will be a girl like us.Kim Coco Iwamoto, who is serving her first term on the state of Hawaii's Civil Rights Commission and previously served the state as an elected member of the Hawaii State Board of Education, is one of the people being honored on Wednesday, Harvey Milk's birthday as a Harvey Milk Champion of Change
The White House Champions of Change program was established in 2011 to spotlight ordinary citizens who are doing extraordinary things for to their community, their country, and their fellow citizens. In that tradition, the Harvey Milk Champions of Change highlights a small group of TBLG state and local elected and appointed officials who have demonstrated a strong commitment to both equality and public service.
In addition to Kim Coco Iwamoto, the other Harvey Milk Champions of Change for 2013 are:
- Simone Bell – Georgia State Representative, Atlanta, GA
- Angie Buhl O’Donnell – South Dakota State Senator, Sioux Falls, SD
- Karen Clark – Minnesota State Representative, South Minneapolis, MN
- Michael A. Gin – Mayor of Redondo Beach, Redondo Beach, CA
- John Laird – California Secretary of Natural Resources, Santa Cruz, CA
- Ricardo Lara – California State Senator, Long Beach, CA
- Kim Painter – Johnson Country Recorder, Iowa City, IA
- Chris Seelbach – Cincinnati City Council Member, Cincinnati, OH
- Pat Steadman – Colorado State Senator, Denver,
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May 20th, 2013
I've been busy, worn out, depressed, and injured. But there's work to do, so I've made four consecutive weekend trips to CNY. I'm feeling a tad detached from local reality.
( Long summary of the past six weeks or so. )
June will bring more of the CNY same. I'm coming to terms with the process taking as long as it will take, can only do so much even as I get pressured to do more. one result of said pressure is that I had only one working hand for much of May (it's finally healing), so enough is enough. It's going to be an "interesting" summer.
( Long summary of the past six weeks or so. )
June will bring more of the CNY same. I'm coming to terms with the process taking as long as it will take, can only do so much even as I get pressured to do more. one result of said pressure is that I had only one working hand for much of May (it's finally healing), so enough is enough. It's going to be an "interesting" summer.
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Okay, this is too long to reproduce it all here, but if you want a linkdump for all the clusterfuckery going down as a result of Ron Lindsay (apparently) being deeply ambivalent about the reason we all came together and expressing that in his introduction, here is what I have.
annoyed
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posted by dharma_slut at 03:29pm on 2013-05-20 under an ego is me, no one promised me a rose garden, pith and pungency, transiting
dharma_slut at 03:29pm on 2013-05-20 under an ego is me, no one promised me a rose garden, pith and pungency, transiting
cynical
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Live video feed from News 9, thanks to CJ Cherryh on FB. Get your asses down, stay safe.
ETA: Holy crap. Lots and lots of damage, houses smashed, at least one school devastated. Lots of debris in the roads, lots of cars tossed all over the damn place, many with people still in them. And it's still going on. Please please please stay safe and check in when you can.
ETA: Holy crap. Lots and lots of damage, houses smashed, at least one school devastated. Lots of debris in the roads, lots of cars tossed all over the damn place, many with people still in them. And it's still going on. Please please please stay safe and check in when you can.
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Author: Caitlín R Kiernan (![[livejournal.com profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
greygirlbeast)
Details: (c) Caitlín R Kiernan 2001; Pub ROC Horror 2001; ISBN 0-451-45858-3
Verdict: Threshold is very good, but too scary for me.
Reasons for reading it:rysmiel recommended it to me strongly, even knowing that I don't really read horror.
How it came into my hands: I bought it when I was visitingrysmiel in Montreal years ago, and then didn't get round to reading it because I kept looking at it and deciding I wasn't in the mood for horror. And then rysmiel saw it on my shelves and persuaded me again that it's worth reading even though it's scary.
( detailed review )
It's taken me a month to read Threshold, and it's not long, mainly because a lot of the time I just couldn't quite bring myself to pick it up and start thinking about such awful things. But if you like horror at all, it's a really good example of the genre, it's both genre-aware and very much in dialogue with the traditional horror tropes.
greygirlbeast)Details: (c) Caitlín R Kiernan 2001; Pub ROC Horror 2001; ISBN 0-451-45858-3
Verdict: Threshold is very good, but too scary for me.
Reasons for reading it:
rysmiel recommended it to me strongly, even knowing that I don't really read horror. How it came into my hands: I bought it when I was visiting
rysmiel in Montreal years ago, and then didn't get round to reading it because I kept looking at it and deciding I wasn't in the mood for horror. And then rysmiel saw it on my shelves and persuaded me again that it's worth reading even though it's scary.( detailed review )
It's taken me a month to read Threshold, and it's not long, mainly because a lot of the time I just couldn't quite bring myself to pick it up and start thinking about such awful things. But if you like horror at all, it's a really good example of the genre, it's both genre-aware and very much in dialogue with the traditional horror tropes.
distressed
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posted by transgriot_feed at 12:30pm on 2013-05-20
transgriot_feed at 12:30pm on 2013-05-20
In 1901 a clandestine Mexico City party was raided and 41 people were arrested. Half of those 41 people were dressed as women (and some of those 20 or 21 people were probably girls like us) They were publically paraded by the police and sent off to slave labor camps simply for being gay, trans and bisexual. Those that survived the ordeal had their names put on a list that condemned them and their families to a lifetime of ridicule and shame.The arrest also unfortunately occurred at a time in Mexico when curiosity about sexuality was rising and set in motion a chain of events that combined with the negative media coverage led to a movement that led to the birth of the concept of homosexuality in Mexico. It also led to the number 41 gaining a negative connotation in Mexican culture
Honor 41.org in conjunction with MALDEF, the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization created a list to recognize outstanding TBLGQ Latino/a leaders. The 41 List celebrates the Latina/o TBLGQ community and demonstrates how far the community has come in the over 100 years since that despicable incident.
Those featured on The 41 List represent a diversity of professional backgrounds, age groups, genders, geographic regions, and Latino backgrounds that make up our community. They are all role models for our community and for future Latina/o LGBTQ generations.
I'm happy to note that on the 2013 list girls like us Bamby Salcedo, Arianna Inurritegui Lint and Maria Roman are on it. When I find the full list of names I'll post it to TransGriot. .
While I'm happy three of my trans Latina sisters (and two I personally know) were honored on this list, I was disappointed that some of my trans Latino brothers like Mark Angelo Cummings and Yosenio Lewis just to name two are missing.
Nominations will be taken in the fall for the 2014 edition of the 41 List. I hope that when I compile my 2014 post about this list, it not only has Latino transmasculine representation, but more Latina trans women on a list to honor and spotlight outstanding TBGLQ Latina/o people.
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posted by transgriot_feed at 12:00pm on 2013-05-20
transgriot_feed at 12:00pm on 2013-05-20
So yep, the clock is ticking on the unjust SB 1218 bill. It's still stuck in the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee and showing In Committee status.
As a reminder of why I'm calling it an unjust bill, it attempts to strip trans people of their ability to marry by prohibiting anyone from obtaining a marriage license with a document that lacks a photo. One of the approved documents we can use to get a marriage license in Texas is an affidavit of sex change.
It must be voted out today and placed on the House calendar or else it dies for this session.
Tick, tick, tick, tick.
Die, SB 1218 Die!
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posted by silmaril at 12:55pm on 2013-05-20
silmaril at 12:55pm on 2013-05-20Things to write about tomorrow, because today I don't have the time:
* Star Trek: Into Darkness This was a... Star Trek movie. Yup. It sure was, yessirree. I didn't even dislike it.
* Coursera's Introduction to Data Science class: I'm... starting to have issues with the pedagogical approach on display. But more about that later, too.
Other than that, ILLITERAL.
* Star Trek: Into Darkness This was a... Star Trek movie. Yup. It sure was, yessirree. I didn't even dislike it.
* Coursera's Introduction to Data Science class: I'm... starting to have issues with the pedagogical approach on display. But more about that later, too.
Other than that, ILLITERAL.
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Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Star Trek: Into Darkness -- whatever's floating your boat.
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It's looking like eastern Oklahoma, southwest Missouri, and northwest Arkansas will be taking the brunt today. But the system stretches from Mexico up into Canada, and it'll likely get a boost when it reaches the Gulf, so watch out for "regular" storms as well.
As usual, weatherdude from dKos has the 411.
Stay alert, stay safe, check in after it's past.
As usual, weatherdude from dKos has the 411.
Stay alert, stay safe, check in after it's past.
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posted by synecdochic at 09:22am on 2013-05-20 under pride thread
synecdochic at 09:22am on 2013-05-20 under pride threadMondays, every week, let's celebrate ourselves, to start the week right. Tell me what you're proud of. Tell me what you accomplished last week, something -- at least one thing -- that you can turn around and point at and say: I did this. Me. It was tough, but I did it, and I did it well, and I am proud of it, and it makes me feel good to see what I accomplished. Could be anything -- something you made, something you did, something you got through. Just take a minute and celebrate yourself. Either here, or in your journal, but somewhere.
(And if you feel uncomfortable doing this in public, I've set this entry to screen any anonymous comments, so if you want privacy, comment anonymously and I won't unscreen it. Also: yes, by all means, cheer each other on when you see something you want to give props to!)
(And if you feel uncomfortable doing this in public, I've set this entry to screen any anonymous comments, so if you want privacy, comment anonymously and I won't unscreen it. Also: yes, by all means, cheer each other on when you see something you want to give props to!)
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amused and amazed and all thatFrom a New York Times news story:
Mr. Pfeiffer [a senior adviser to Obama] accused Republicans of exploiting three issues — I.R.S. political targeting; the attack in Benghazi, Libya; and the Justice Department’s subpoenaing of phone records from The Associated Press — for political purposes, even as he urged them to work with the administration on legislation to revamp the immigration system and trim the budget deficit.
In Pfeiffer's view, having a political purpose is a bad thing. This is a view which is born of pragmatism, the idea that "what works" is all that matters, and that a systematic or principled approach is wrong. We heard the same view in Hillary Clinton's "What difference does it make?" in response to questions about why the administration spread false information about the cause of Ambassador Stevens' murder in Benghazi. Obama declared, shortly after taking office, that "we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards" as a justification for ignoring the Bush administration's crimes. In this viewpoint, there is no wrongdoing; at worst, "mistakes were made."
Usually pragmatism is invoked selectively, to avoid being challenged on principle. Should the power of the IRS be sharply curtailed? Should speech be made less free because there are allegedly vast mobs of Muslims who will rampage and kill whenever they're offended? Should the administration be able to bypass the courts to go on fishing expeditions against journalists? These are political issues. But in the pragmatist approach, there's only deal-making and compromise. This often comes down to "You want other people's money? I'll help you if you help me."
That last is what "politics" often means in ordinary use. From originally meaning the philosophy and art of government, it's come to mean the art of deception and lying. But what Pfeiffer was talking about was having a "political purpose" in the sense of establishing principles of right and wrong in government. Lots of people agree with him, at least to the extent that as long as the Democratic Party is more likely to provide them goodies, they won't criticize Democrats' actions. But when there's nothing left but a chase for goodies at other people's expense, where are they going to come from?
Once a friend of mine said that a family member told him, "You can't eat principles." He replied, "You can't eat without them."
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posted by transgriot_feed at 02:00am on 2013-05-20
transgriot_feed at 02:00am on 2013-05-20
Here we go again with cis people tripping about a trans woman peeing in the ladies room. The latest report of this BS comes from Scotland.Hannah Leith has been transitioning full time for less than a year and after doing some window shopping around noon local time handled her business in the ladies room at the Paisley Centre.
She has done this countless times since starting her transition, but on this occasion Leith was stopped by an overzealous security guard who obviously isn't aware of the 2010 Equality Act. She was advised by the guard someone filed a complaint about her using the bathroom and told she was only to use the men's or disabled toilets.
When she pointed out the Equality Act says otherwise, the guard responded with if she attempted to use the female bathrooms she would be banned from the center.
Leith went on to say to PinkNews.com.uk:“It was not made clear whether a staff member or a member of the public had made this complaint… I have lived full-time as a woman since last August and this disgusts me.”
FYI, the 2010 Equality Act (as the radfems are painfully finding out) bars discrimination based on gender reassignment, sex and sexual orientation. Leith went to a nearby library and printed out the pertinent sections of the Equality Act in an attempt to civilly discuss the matter with mall management but no one was available. She was stopped by a different Paisley Centre security guard when she attempted to use the bathroom again.
UK Stonewall and the Scottish Transgender Alliance were appalled by the news and pointed out in the Pink News article that “refusal to allow use of sanitary facilities appropriate to the gender in which the person is living”, is in breach of the Equality Act.
It's also a breach of common sense, decency and humanity. Let my people pee, Scotland!.
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posted by transgriot_feed at 12:00am on 2013-05-20
transgriot_feed at 12:00am on 2013-05-20
Those of you who have been long time readers of TransGriot know that the blog not only started in Louisville, but through May 2010 chronicled some of my Bluegrass State life as a Texan in exile.One of the people that I talked about in various blog posts who was a big part of my Louisville life and my evolving faith journey was my pastor at Edenside Christian Church, the Rev. Sally McClain.
I first met her approximately 48 hours after arriving in Louisville in late September 2001. I was still reeling emotionally and depressed about my move from Houston, the series of seismic level events in my life starting that February which precipitated my relocation. I was also spending a lot of my time in my new locale pondering my future and my 40th birthday that was a mere 8 months away.
Dawn had me hop in her car and took me to meet the pastor of her church and at the time I didn't know anybody yet in Da Ville besides the Fairness peeps, my housemates, and my new next door neighbors.
A few days later after visiting her Edenside office the Louisville AIDS Walk happened, and I joined the Edenside crew as we walked from the Belvedere starting point in downtown Louisville across the Clark Bridge to Indiana and back.
I had so much fun that day with the folks there I started attending Sunday services at Edenside since the Highlands neighborhood in Da Ville that surrounded the church reminded me a lot of Montrose.
Edenside eventually grew on me until I joined the church a few months later in 2002. You have to love a church like Edenside that in addition to being actively involved in the Highlands neighborhood and the Louisville community, hosted art shows in its building, hosted a concert by one of our members who was a jazz vocalist, had an HIV/AIDS memorial service and has the Louisville Scottish Association Bagpipe band pop in from time to time.
And oh yeah, did I forget to mention a certain DJ spinning Christmas tunes with soul as part of our church's contribution to the Bardstown Road Aglow event the first Saturday in December that kicks off the holiday season in the Highlands?
She also led by example. She's on the advisory board for the WHAS-TV Crusade For Children, one of the major charity fundraising events in the area. Before I left for Texas she'd become a regular panelist on WHAS-TV's The Moral Side Of The News.
As the Cartman doll on her bottom bookshelf demonstrated, Rev. Sally also has a wicked sense of humor she''d unleash at times. As a proud UK alum during basketball season no Louisville and Indiana fan in our congregation was safe whenever they lost their annual games to the Cats.
I loved the fact she could say in a 20-30 minute sermon what it would take most Black minsters 45 minutes to an hour to dramatically pontificate on. I also loved the fact my Louisville church later officially became an open and affirming one.
I also loved the fact Edenside services started at 10:40 AM, included weekly communion and we were done by 11:45 AM. Most times I was back home by noon unless we were having a post service church dinner or event.
Yesterday the retirement service was held for Rev. Sally at Edenside. We tried to arrange it so I could come to Louisville and 'sliiiiide into Edenside' for this event as a surprise for her but it didn't work out.
Then again, the news of me being back in Jefferson County wouldn't have stayed a surprise long either.
With all the stuff I been juggling lately I didn't think about simply writing a statement about what my time at Edenside meant to me that pretty much coincided with Sally's tenure at the church for Dawn to read until it was way too late to do so..
She not only helped me start to get over being depressed about being there but helped me get acclimated to life in Kentuckiana as a member of Edenside. I got the chance to find my speaking voice again as a worship leader and meet some new people who became my friends during the what turned out to be eight years I lived there. Her sermons got me thinking about a lot of social justice issues that fueled my activism while I was there and sometimes fueled my social justice during my Texan in exile days.
And it was a two way street. I was the DJ for her son Derek's wedding. I also gave her the advice after she asked my opinion about her first Moral Side of The News telecast to be fearless in making her points. As the only female panelist on the show at the time, the boys ganged up on her during her first appearance.
But the 1000 miles between me and Edenside didn't keep her from checking on me from time to time or sending me her and the Edenside family's condolences when my father was gravely ill last March and eventually passed away.
Congratulations on your retirement, you've earned it. While I'm sure the Edenside church family will miss you doing those weekly thought provoking sermons, spending quality time with the grandkids and getting to travel for stuff other than church related events will be a bonus.
And I'll not only stay in touch, but give you at least 48 hours warning the next time I'm headed to the Louisville area.
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May 19th, 2013
posted by revlyncox_feed at 11:12pm on 2013-05-19
revlyncox_feed at 11:12pm on 2013-05-19When people who “heed the guidance of reason and the results of science” arrive at a diversity of answers, it may be that they are asking different questions. Three ethical frameworks help us to make sense of our moral choices. This sermon was written for the UUs of Fallston, May 19, 2013.
My children are curious about how the world works. They will turn three years old this summer, and have learned how to design and implement experiments to test their hypotheses about parental behavior. The other night, we heard them on the monitor conversing about their strategy. “I think we should fuss about our toys,” said one. “Good idea,” said the other one. (“Fuss about our toys” means asking for even more stuffed animals to have in bed with them.) They paused, then lifted up a chorus designed to try to draw one of us into the nursery. It didn’t work. Like true scientists, they continue to refine their hypotheses and research methods.
As parents, we’ve had to be mindful of the examples we set in terms of right and wrong behavior. We also have to consider the ethics of how we guide their behavior. I do want them to show respect to adults and to take on age-appropriate responsibilities. I’m not sure I want to reinforce “because I said so” as a rational argument (although I haven’t ruled it out). We tell them all the time, “Be a mensch,” which is Yiddish for “a person of good character.” The traits we’re usually looking for at that point are self-control and kindness. What I don’t want is for them to become perfectionists, trying to reach an impossible standard. I want them to learn cause and effect, so we talk about natural consequences that follow their actions. “You used that toy as a hammer. Now it is broken.” We know that anticipating results is advanced for their age, so we’re mostly laying the groundwork for later with that one. What I don’t want is for them to become too anxious about possible outcomes to initiate any choices.
The questions we’re asking with those three strategies are common to all kinds of ethics. First, there’s the respect and responsibility angle. Moral choices are anchored in the framework of duty. From this perspective, a person aims to do the “right” thing, regardless of what might happen next. The big question is, “What are my obligations in this situation?” The fancy name for this is deontology.
Next, there’s the “be a mensch” angle, anchoring your moral choices in a set of virtues. Character building is the essential aim in this framework. A person works to develop a set of desirable traits and to figure out what traits are operating in others. The goal is to become a more fully virtuous person.
Finally, cause and effect figure into ethics. In this framework, a person balances the potential for help and harm in every action. Moral choices lead to the best outcomes, or at least good enough outcomes. Philosophers call this consequentialism.
As UU’s, we “heed the guidance of reason and the results of science.” Even so, we sometimes advocate for different moral choices, especially in questions about actions we should take as a community. Sometimes, we may step back and realize that we arrive at different answers because we are asking different questions. Exploring these three ethical frameworks may help us understand each other.
Wake Now My Conscience: Rational Thought and Duty
My senior year of college, I moved into an apartment with a friend. It was my first grownup place to live. Packing up my whole room and getting heavy furniture to the new apartment seemed like an overwhelming task. I asked a few friends to help, and they turned out in droves. My parents’ house was full of friends from school, from work, and from science fiction conventions. I’m not sure what my parents thought about all of the odd people coming out of the woodwork to help launch their oldest child. Actually, I do know one of their thoughts: “We have guests, let’s feed them.”
Having been through way move moves than I care to count since then, I am all the more appreciative that my friends showed up for me. I realize that, even when people want to help, sometimes they are prevented by injury or other obligations, so I was lucky that my friends were both willing and able. For those who had the capacity to help, the most likely reason I can think of that they showed up is because they believed that’s what friends in their early twenties do for each other. The sense of duty prevailed. These were some of the same friends who took pleasure in challenging each other’s opinions, solving technical problems together, and coaching each other in obscure skills like fencing or costuming just for fun. There was a set of social expectations around supporting each other’s exploration, learning, and growth.
In some times and cultures, there are thoroughly defined roles and sets of expectations for everyone, and people behave a certain way because that’s just what people do in that time and place. In twenty-first century United States pluralistic society, there are a lot of conflicting ideas about a person’s duties and responsibilities. No one can accomplish all of the things a person “ought” to do. Because there’s no clear agreement about what our social obligations actually are, we face the danger of either ignoring them or over-identifying them and getting overwhelmed with impossible and unhealthy expectations.
Duty is important, yet it needs to be balanced with other perspectives. When social obligation conflicts with the goals we have as individuals or a society, or when responsibility doesn’t match the virtues we hope to develop, we run into trouble. An ethic of duty has also contributed to oppression, where women and people of color are trained to think that it’s our/their responsibility to uphold a system that benefits white men at our/their own expense.
I think the framework of obligations, also known as deontological ethics, is helpful as a first response. Being drawn toward duty is an invitation to think about what our choices mean. If we have a gut feeling that we should respond a certain way to a disruption in civil rights or to care for our seniors, let’s research and see if strategic thinking and the group most affected by the situation agree with that impulse.
Here in this congregation, we help each other bear emotionally heavy things, even if some of us aren’t as able to lift futon frames as we used to. I think we do have a sense of duty that helps us know when to show up for each other. In other contexts, showing up might look like giving assurances about spiritual truths, but that’s not generally a UU’s first response. We affirm the guidance of reason, so our support comes in forms such as practical assistance, giving evidence-based suggestions when asked, and joining in shared exploration.
Reason and duty go hand-in-hand here. We each travel the spiritual path in our own way, and we might each see the set of obligations a bit differently. That could theoretically cause some friction if we have different assumptions about duty. In this congregation, we’re pretty good at giving each other the benefit of the doubt. I believe every person here has an authentic commitment. The Membership Committee is considering a “Continuing On the Path” refresher class next year, which would help seasoned members discuss shared expectations. Meanwhile, let’s continue to show up, to meet our mutual expectations as the caring and supportive congregation we are.
Wake Now My Reason: Rational Thought and Virtue Ethics
The second lens for ethical decision-making has to do with character traits or virtues. Viewing our UU Principles and Sources as virtues to work toward rather than everyday standards is appealing. I can’t perfectly behave with respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every person all the time, but I can work toward that as a character-building goal, and I can celebrate progress. I think defining the person we want to be is worthwhile, although I realize that virtue is culture-bound.
The source of our living tradition that we’re talking about today is “Humanist teachings with counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.” Let’s look at that through the lens of virtue ethics. The quality we would be aiming to develop in ourselves and to encourage in others has to do with our ability to check evidence and to change our minds; in other words, critical thinking is a UU virtue. I don’t mean critical as in negative, I mean critical as in analytical. We seek ways to stretch our minds and spirits so that we can develop this characteristic, and we seek ways to make it possible for other people to develop it to the best of their abilities. This is why scientific learning is incorporated into worship themes, and why science is a major component in our children’s Religious Education.
This virtue is absolutely at work in UU congregations that are able to sponsor “Our Whole Lives (OWL),” comprehensive sex education classes that incorporate practical information as well as opportunities to develop relational values. OWL deals directly with diversity in sexual orientation and gender identity, and provides facts about birth control. “Idolatries of the mind and spirit” motivate some communities to block this information from reaching teens, despite overwhelming evidence that health outcomes are improved for youth who receive comprehensive sexuality education. Reason guides us to promote health.
I don’t have experience as an OWL teacher, but I am guilty of luring young minds into the arts. In my professional life before I became a minister, I did public relations and administration for a few arts organizations. I believe appreciation and practice of the arts is a virtue in itself. Aside from that, disciplines like music, dance, sculpture, drama, painting, and fiber arts help people train their minds and bodies for analytical thought and focused attention.
When I worked in the education department of a university art museum, our docents were trained to help school groups really look at a painting or a print and ask, “What’s going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can we find?” (Docents and staff received training in the Visual Thinking Strategies curriculum by Philip Yenawine and Abigail Housen) Part of the point was to help the children work together, listening to and building on each other’s ideas. The docents would go to at least three different galleries so that the children could find similarities and differences across time periods and cultures.
It was my job to set up the tours with the teachers and to help them find information and materials to prepare their class for the visit. Some of the teachers were really concerned that their students wouldn’t get to see everything in the museum. This was their one shot at a field trip, and the teachers envisioned a whirlwind tour, stuffed full of information. I shared with them the evidence that students were more likely to retain information from an interactive tour focused on a few highlights.
Other teachers wanted to stay in one gallery, such as Native American art or the 19th century American art, depending on their social studies standards for that grade level. They worried that covering material that students wouldn’t be tested on that year was a waste of time. Anxiety about having students pass their state-mandated testing is understandable. Usually we were able to put together a tour that worked.
If a tour was just not going to meet the teacher’s goals, I suggested self-directed gallery activities for their group. For instance, I helped put together a “scavenger hunt” map, which invited the visitor to search for certain small details in works of art all over the museum. In any case, we offered students a chance to practice close observation and problem-solving. Even among educators who value analytical skills, barriers of time and resources (not to mention pressure from a memorization-based testing industry) compete with developing critical thinking as a virtue.
As I said, virtue is culture-bound. Not everyone agrees that the capacity to reason is a desirable trait. The practice of training young people to engage in critical thought is being attacked in some circles as a threat to parental and religious authority. When analytical skills are not being directly attacked, they are being de-valued as resources are shifted away from children and poor communities. If we are a faith that heeds the guidance of reason, let’s put our backs and shoulders into it, campaigning for and providing resources that ignite the flame of critical thought.
As UU’s, reason is a major pathway by which we “reach out to the new.” (This is a quote from “Wake Now My Senses,” the hymn we will sing in a few minutes.) The guidance of reason is not just a dry imperative, but fuel for our spiritual exploration. Let us open doors for developing critical thinking among ourselves and in our community.
Wake Now My Vision: Applying Reason to Consequences
The third and possibly most popular ethical framework for us as UUs is consequentialism, examining the potential results of our actions. We’ve talked about duties and virtues as two options for focusing our moral discernment. There is more to it. We want to grow our cities and towns into just, peaceful, and free communities. We want to relieve suffering with compassion. According to the hymn, we “work toward a planet transformed by our care.” Those wants are results-oriented.
Consequentialism does have drawbacks. We can cause harm when we decide that the ends justify the means, or through unintended consequences. We can devolve into considering people and ecosystems as utilitarian objects in our calculations. Our goals need to account for the pitfalls of consequentialism, explicitly figuring human dignity and ecological health into the equation. In an ethical framework that asks about the potential outcomes of our moral choices, we have to decide which results are most desirable and how we measure them.
Preserving the possibility for sustaining human life on this planet seems like a fairly desirable end. How people respond to global climate change is deeply affected by attitudes toward “the guidance of reason and the results of science.” Humanity needs drastic changes in public policy, a revolution in the practices of multinational corporations, and a seismic shift in the daily lives of those of us who consume the most. For people who trust other sources of authority more than they trust science, or for people who don’t believe that sustaining life on earth is important, there is no motivation to make these changes. Religion can be a force for the declining status quo or a force for ecological healing and justice.
UUs tend to have a broad consensus on environmental issues. Respect for the interdependent web is part of our tradition. Within that broad consensus, there are UU interest groups that help us continue to uncover information and who help congregations make plans for ecological action. Organizations like UU’s for Social Justice in the National Capital region and UU Ministry for Earth have taken the data about consequences, combined it with their confidence in science, and translated that into a spiritual mission to heal our relationship with the planet.
People who have felt a calling to environmental justice as a UU religious witness have helped our faith movement maintain awareness, even when international progress has been slow. Delegates to the 2006 UUA General Assembly, which is our annual meeting of congregations, adopted a “Statement of Conscience on the Threat of Global Warming and Climate Change.” The statement articulated spiritual motivations, described scientific evidence, and outlined actions that could be taken on individual, congregational, denominational, and national levels. The statement also named the disproportionate negative effects of climate change experienced by poor communities and developing countries. In part, the statement said:
We declare by this Statement of Conscience that we will not acquiesce to the ongoing degradation and destruction of life that human actions are leaving to our children and grandchildren. We as Unitarian Universalists are called to join with others to halt practices that fuel global warming/climate change, to instigate sustainable alternatives, and to mitigate the impending effects of global warming/climate change with just and ethical responses. As a people of faith, we commit to a renewed reverence for life and respect for the interdependent web of all existence.
So ends the excerpt. The last sentence I quoted mentioned “reverence for life and respect for the interdependent web of all existence.” That part appeals to our sense of duty. In addition, the statement as a whole was very clear about the current and expected consequences for human activity. We can allow things to continue as they are in the direction of devastation, or we can take action toward spiritual, social, and ecological healing. That’s a consequentialist argument. Even if you don’t feel the deep power of the Spirit of Life moving in your soul, there are still moral and religious arguments for action because: science.
Members of congregations from across the country drafted and voted on the Statement of Conscience. While it is not binding for us as a congregation, it does help us to articulate the way our faith might inform our actions. The statement also gives the UUA Board and staff some idea about what the congregations they serve need in terms of leadership and resources.
The 2006 Statement of Conscience wasn’t the last word. UU’s are still involved in research, writing letters to the editor, showing up in legislators’ offices, and organizing public rallies for the planet. UU Ministry for Earth has collected ideas for congregation-sized sustainability projects, developed an adult religious education curriculum, and produced CDs with action ideas and worship resources. There is a river of strength in our faith movement flowing toward environmental justice; any one of us can join any time.
The consequentialist arm of ethics has its drawbacks, but one of its advantages is that it lends itself to a vision of the future. We have something to work toward. We have hypotheses to test, outcomes to reach, and dreams to manifest. May our love for future generations continue to guide us toward positive choices.
Conclusion
Two years ago, this congregation worked together on a vision statement. We considered our values, our role as a member in the community, and the goals we hope to achieve. In other words, we used all three ethical frameworks. Here is the vision statement that the members came up with:
As UUs of Fallston, we strive to be a welcoming and diverse community that cares for the needs of others and the stewardship of the environment.
We promote lifelong spiritual growth and inquiry, the growth and sustainment of the UUF community, and the advocacy of social justice.
I think coming to a consensus about our vision as a community is something to be proud of, especially when you were so thorough about considering the moral implications from all sides. Even if people start from the same framework, it’s not easy to agree on which set of duties or which virtues or which outcomes are most important. As we meet today and beyond to consider the congregation’s future directions, I continue to be impressed with your ability to respect each other and to listen. You have a good foundation for determining the future moral and ethical decisions for this church as a body.
Individually and in our families, we have a number of tools for applying “Humanist teachings which counsel s to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.” We can look at the evidence about things like human development and global climate change to help us discern our ethical obligations as neighbors and as members of the interdependent web. That’s deontology, or the framework of duty. We can articulate the virtues we’d like to see in ourselves and listen for the values that are motivating others. If reason is one of the traits we favor, let’s work to develop it in ourselves and make sure others have the opportunity to do the same. That’s virtue ethics, or the framework of character building. We can make hypotheses based on evidence and reason about the potential effects of our actions, and make choices that promote healthy people, healing for the planet, and justice in our communities. That’s consequentialist ethics, the framework of outcomes.
Whether we base our decisions on one of these or a combination, realizing that there are different frameworks beneath all of our moral choices may help us understand each other when we end up with multiple perspectives. Part of why we reach different conclusions, even though we all use reason, is because we are asking different questions. May we listen each other into speech, strengthening the bonds of fellowship and the practice of peace.
So be it. Blessed be. Amen.
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I am arriving Thursday afternoon, possibly in time for the Room of One's Own reception and readings, weather and traffic through O'Hare allowing, and will be leaving after breakfast on Monday. Seattle is a lot further from Madison than New York is, and there are no nonstop flights. I'm not on programming this year (I didn't volunteer, because I wasn't sure I could attend the con until after the sign-up deadline), which means either that I am more flexible than usual, or that I will spend more time wondering what to do when.
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