Sunday, December 07, 2008

Once Again We Are The Invisible "T" Part 3

I received a very nice letter from the curator saying I was right and she could have done more. However, she was also limited to the books and material that the library had in its collection. She also thanked me for my email and said she welcomed my comments, she mentioned that the library is expanding its transgender collection.

In addition, she noted that they are “putting together a student library diversity advisory committee for this exact purpose-- to find out how the libraries can better serve all students here, and if you would be interested in becoming a part of that once it is formed, please let me know.” Hmm… I smell another committee that I am going to be on; it will be hard to turn down since I negatively commented out their lack of diversity.

Once Again We Are The Invisible "T" Part 2

This morning I am still thinking about the "Margins to the Mainstream: GLBTQ Culture and History." exhibit and I sent this email to the curator of the exhibit...

Hi

I visited the exhibit Saturday with a couple of friends and I was terrible disappointed with the exhibit. I expected to see more on displays about transgender history than the few exhibits that were displayed. In the list of notable historic events, only the Compton Riot was mentioned and we were just reduced to a fragment of a sentence during the Stonewall Riots. You had Leslie Feinberg’s “Stone Butch Blues” but did you read ze’s interview with Sylvia Rivera about the Stonewall Riots in “Worker’s World”
(http://www.workers.org/ww/1998/sylvia0702.php)? That could have added a different perspective to Stonewall.

You mentioned Mathew Shepard, but did you know that only a couple of weeks after his murder Rita Hester
(http://www.gender.org/remember/people/ritahester.html) was brutally murder in Boston, she was a trans-woman from East Hartford and had moved to Boston area. It is in her honor the Transgender Day of Remembrance is held (http://www.transgenderdor.org/?page_id=4).

More trans-history can be found here
(http://www.jenellerose.com/htmlpostings/20th_century_transgender.htm),
here (http://www.3dcom.com/tgfs/docs/rikipt1.html) and here
(http://www.gender.org.uk/conf/2000/king20.htm).

There are so many books on transgenderism that you could have highlighted such as Jan Morris’ “Conundrum”, Renee Richards’ “Second Serve” and Christine Jorgensen’s “A Personal Autobiography” to name just a few. Plus there are so many modern books that you could have shown like Jameson Green’s “The Visible Man”, Jennifer F. Boylan’s “She’s Not There: a life in two genders” and Helen Boyd’s “My Husband Betty”

Another point of contention was the statement on the wall by the entrance, about the passage of Connecticut’s “comprehensive” Anti-discrimination law. From the transgender point of view, it was not comprehensive since we were left out and we are still fighting to be included.

The reasons that I am so passionate on this is because I am trans and because when Congressman Barney Franks pulled the gender inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act from the floor of the House in 2007 and replaced it with non-inclusive ENDA, the reason he gave was that trans-community didn’t earn it. He said the gay community had fought for ENDA for thirty years and the trans-community just recently lobby for the bill; Rep. Franks just totally discounted forty years of trans-activism.

I am disappointed, there was so much you could have done to include the "T", but you did so little. We are still marginized. If you are going to advertise the “T,” then have the “T”.

Diana

Saturday Six - Episode 243

Patrick’s Place Saturday Six - Episode 243

1. How many stores did you visit on Black Friday? If you visited any, which one got the most of your money that day?
- ZERO -

2. How many store sites did you visit on Cyber Monday? If you visited any, which one got the most of your money on that day?
- ZERO -

3. Are you closer to being finished with Christmas shopping this year versus last year, or are you further away from being finished?
Nope! There still are seventeen shopping days left.

4. Take the quiz: What kind of shopper are you?



You Are a Reluctant Shopper



You really don't enjoy shopping. For you, it's just another chore.
You approach shopping systematically. You research what you're going to buy and come prepared with a list.

Of all the types, you are the most likely to not buy things you don't need.
You try to de-emphasize stuff in your life. You find shopping and buying things to be a rather empty experience.



5. Do you prefer letting your friends give you a list of things they’d like, or trying to match their personality to a gift you’d buy on your own?
A list, it is so much easier, we limit it to fifty dollars. I just give gifts to my brother and sister-in-law and my grandnieces and nephews if I am with them on Christmas day.

6. Are you spending more, less, or the same on this year’s Christmas gifts?
About the same, maybe a little more because I will be with my grandnieces and nephews this year.

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more...

Enjoy!
See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die


Thanks Deja!

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Once Again We Are The Invisible "T"

I went to see an exhibit at UConn Storrs campus called the "Margins to the Mainstream: GLBTQ Culture and History" and I was terrible disappointed with the exhibit. I expected to see more on displays about transgender history than the half a dozen exhibits that were displayed. In the list of notable historic events, only the Compton Riot was mentioned. We were just reduced to a fragment of a sentence during the Stonewall Riots.

In addition, another point of contention was the statement on the wall by the entrance about Connecticut’s “comprehensive” Anti-discrimination law, from the transgender view it was not comprehensive since we were left out and we are still fighting to be included.

The reasons that I am so passionate on this is because I am trans and because when Congressman Barney Franks pulled the gender inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act from the floor of the House and replaced it with non-inclusive ENDA, the reason he gave was that trans-community didn’t earn it. He said the gay community had fought for ENDA for thirty years and the trans-community just recently lobby for the bill; Rep. Franks just totally discounted forty years of trans-activism.

Friday, December 05, 2008

Saturday 9: How Do You Sleep

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: How Do You Sleep



1. How long do you sleep each night?

About five hours a night, I wish it was more.

2. Do you fall asleep easily?

Yes, I usually fall asleep fast, it’s not like I measure it or something.

3. Do you fall asleep at times not in your bed?
Yes, in my recliner, sometimes if I am sick or can’t fall back to sleep, I try sleeping in the chair.

4. Do you listen to music or use “white noise” to sleep?
No.

5. Do you sleep through the night or get up a couple of times?
I wake up during the night, rarely do I sleep through the night.

6. Do you have trouble sleeping away from your own bed?
No

7. Do you need an alarm clock to get you up?
No, I am usually awake waiting for it to go off.

8. Do you ever take medication to help you sleep?
Yes, maybe two or three nights a month. It is usually when I am stressed out or have something special going on the next day.

9. Do you/have you slept with pets?
I don’t have any pets. When I am dogsitting my brothers dog she tries to climb in bed with me but I kick her out. She gives my the saddest look when I do kick her off the bed.


Goodnight. Sweet Dreams.

Fill-in Friday #101

Janet’s Fill-in Friday #101



1. Snow _is coming for the weekend_.

2. I'm looking forward to _Tuesday, the last day of classes_.

3. _This semester_ is the best hardest _semester_ ever!

4. One of my favorite old tv shows is _”I Dream of Jennie”_.

5. I'm done with _classes_!

6. The most enjoyable thing around the holidays is _no more term papers_! (Hmm… I see a theme here.)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _going to the coffee shop to hear a folk singer_, tomorrow my plans include _relaxing (Wow, I haven’t that since the semester began.)_ and Sunday, I want to _go shopping_!

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

President-elect Short List for Secretary of Labor

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Mary Beth Maxwell is on the short list for Secretary of Labor! You ask who is she? Well I looked up her CV on the web and I found out that she is, Executive Director of American Rights at Work, past National Field Director for Jobs with Justice, former Deputy Field Director for NARAL, on the Board of Directors of the Partnership for Working Families and the Discount Foundation. In addition, she is an active member of the Human Rights Campaign, the Family Equality Council.
During her college years, she was strongly involved with social justice issues (civil rights, anti-poverty and women’s rights issues).

Monday, December 01, 2008

President George W. Bush to Receive 'International Medal of Peace' on 20th World AIDS Day

I found this on Pam’s Houseblend

This unbelievable! They are awarding President Bush the 'International Medal of Peace'!
I just can’t believe that they giving him the award with his “Abstinence-only” policy which is one of the main causes of the rise in AIDS in the Third World nations and here in the United States. You cannot teach sex education without talking about birth control methods, in the states that teach “Abstinence-only” they have the highest teenage pregnancy rates.
It make a mockery out of Global PEACE and World’s AIDS Day.

Christian Newswire
This award is in recognition of the President's tireless efforts and unprecedented contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

"No world leader has done more for global health than President Bush," Warren said. "The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief [PEPFAR] has saved millions of lives in the past five years, so it is fitting that he be awarded the first 'International Medal of PEACE.'

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Manic Monday

Lisa’s Manic Monday #144

It's "Cyber Monday" today, the ceremonial kick-off of the holiday online shopping season in the United States. Do you do much online shopping, holiday or otherwise?
I will not do any shopping on “Cyber Monday” but I do shop on-line especially for shoes.

Are you a Mac or a PC user? Why?
PC, because the business world is geared toward PC’s. However, I used an Apple way back in 1978, I had an Apple II+ with disk drives. I was a screaming machine with 64K of RAM (that is K not M or G).

What website do you spend more time on than you care to admit?
I usually take a tour of friends blogs a couple times a day and I check my mail a lot.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Saturday Six - Episode 242

Patrick’s Place Saturday Six - Episode 242

1. What single food on the Thanksgiving dinner menu did you most look forward to?
I don’t think I look forward to any one item, but the whole traditional Thanksgiving spread, turkey, stuffing, white potatoes, gravy, candied sweet potatoes, corn and cranberry sauce.

2. What single food was your least favorite?
Candied sweet potatoes.

3. How many plates of food did you eat? Did you take the big nap afterwards?
One plate and not an heaping plate either of food either.

4. Take the quiz: What holiday food are you?




You Are a Fruitcake



People pretend you're sweet and precious, but they know how weird you really are!



What the heck type of quiz was that? It was as if it was written for a thirteen year old.

5. What dessert item did you most enjoy from the big feast? Who made it?
Apple pie and we usually get it from the local farm store, but I skipped it this year.

6. How many meals of leftovers did you bring home?
Enough for two or three turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce sandwiches.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Saturday 9: Just Like a Pill

Crazy Sam's Saturday 9: Just Like a Pill


1. What was the last pill you took?
You don’t want to ask me that, I rattle when I walk. But if you must know Spironolactone, Proscar and Aspirin at night and I have a whole other bunch of pills I take in the morning.

2. What time of day do you usually feel most energized?
The morning when I wake up.

3. Who was the last person you hugged?
A friend at the Day of Remembrance.

4. If you had a restaurant serve you a perfect breakfast, what would it be?
If gaining weight wasn’t a problem, then an omelet with ham, chesses, peppers and onion, bacon and hash browns.

5. What did you do on Thursday?
Worked on my term paper (and I am still working on my term paper), went for a walk and made dinner (see my blog entry “Stuffed and Tired”).

6. If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?
I wish I had more will power to stick to a diet.

7. What is your favorite TV commercial at the moment?
The ads for the Mac computers

8. Who would you'd be surprised to wake up and find in your bed?
Anyone.

9. Who is your favorite 80’s band?
I wasn’t a big fan of the 80’s bands, I liked the music from the sixties and seventies and I don’t even know any bands from the eighties.

Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant"

What would Thanksgiving be without Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant"?
So here it is on YouTube.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Fill-in Friday #100

Janet’s Fill-in Friday #100

1. My stomach _is stuffed with stuffing_.

2. _Stuffing_ is what I ate the most of on Thursday.

3. The yard _is covered in leaves_.

4. _Up at the cottage, curled up in front of the fire reading_ is where I'd rather be at any given time.

5. The smell of _pumpkin pie reminds me of my grandmother’s baking_.

6. _An antacid_ is what I need right now!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _hopefully having my term paper done_, tomorrow my plans include _seeing if my cousin wants to go walking_ and Sunday, I want to _visit some friends_!

Stuffed and Tired.


Whew, I’m stuffed and tired. I went for a two and a half mile walk with a friend this afternoon in Vernon on the Rails to Trails there and I came home and had a big turkey/stuffing/mash potato/cranberry sauce dinner. I was hoping to do some more writing on my term paper but I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open.

May Your Thanksgiving Be Happy

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!



Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

It this time of year that we reflect on all that has happened this past year and to give thanks. However, for many it is not a time to rejoice, it is a time of loneliness, their families may have moved and left them behind, their family or spouse might have pasted away leaving them without any close relatives or their children might be at their in-laws for this holiday. But for whatever the reason, it is a lonely time.

For many in the LGBT community it is an especially lonely time, they might not have seen their family since they came out to them. Their families and chilren have disowned them. Sometimes when we do attend the gathering, we feel like outcasts, like the square peg in the round hole, we just don’t fit in, we are tolerated when we bring our partners or ourselves to the table.

So let us open our hearts and doors to them and invite them to the table.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Manic Monday

Lisa’s Manic Monday #143

Do you ever talk to yourself out loud? What do you talk about?
Yes, all the time, I talk mostly about how dumb I am.

What stresses you out?
Term papers, final exams, etc…

What are your secret talents?
We just covered that on Saturday 9, so this time I would have to say baking. I love to cook.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Saturday Six - Episode 241

Patrick's PlaceSaturday Six - Episode 241


1. How often do you visit a coffee shop? If you do, do you drink coffee there, or just pick it up to go?
About once a week, we meet there to listen to the folk singers on Friday or Saturday nights

2. What is the latest time of day you can drink regular coffee (or tea) without messing up your sleep?

I only drink decafe coffee or tea.

3. What is the highest number of cups of coffee (or tea) you’ve had in a single day?
Two or three, I am not a big coffee or tea drinker

4. Take the quiz: What flavor of latte are you?




You Are a Cinnamon Latte



Deep down, you are a sensitive soul. You just want to be loved and appreciated.
You may have a spicy attitude, but you're all sweetness on the inside.

You are dependable and loyal. You have you life together, and you're able to be there for other people.
You like nothing more than a warm, cozy house filled with friends and loved ones.



5. Consider the highest price you’ve ever paid for a cup of coffee and the highest price you’ve paid for a gallon of gas: which of the two items was more expensive?
Gas, the most I paid for coffee was $2.50

6. What is your favorite holiday-flavored coffee?
Regular with cream and sugar.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Saturday 9: Dreaming of You

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: Dreaming of You

1. What did you dream about last night?
I can never remember my dreams more than a few minutes after I wake-up.

2. Do you often have nightmares?
I don’t remember if I ever had a nightmare since I was a kid.

3. Do you have any special talents?
I can wiggle my nose and ears at the same time.

4. Who is the most talent person that you know?
I have a number of friends who are equally talented.

5. What did you watch on TV last?
NCSI

6. Is there a new TV show that you would recommend?
I have not watched any new shows this fall instead I do homework.

7. Who was the last person you phoned and why?
It was last Monday to talk about planning for a Banquet this coming March.

8. Who was the last person who phoned you and why?
Yesterday the nursing home where my aunt is living called to tell me that they changed her meds

9. What was the last snail mail letter that you received?
Does the letters in Christmas cards count?