Chloe Sevigny Feels Unattractive

Chloe Sevigny Fears She's Unattractive

I saw this today and immediately thought of my post of two months ago about not feeling attractive.  If she's playing a pre-op transsexual character, I suppose it's only fair if she experiences some of the negativity that we all feel about ourselves at some point.  Gods know I've always felt wrong about that thing down below.

More About the McDonalds Incident

Little by little, the story of the incident at a Baltimore-area McDonalds is creeping into the mainstream news outlets.  I spent about an hour last night digging through news sites before I found a blurb of an AP item, buried in the ABC site.

This morning, I found a story on Fox, but their story emphasized that the victim was "a man".  I checked back, and they've amended the story to say "transgendered", but read the comments.  The attitude of every commenter whose words I could stomach tells the tale.

Now there's speculation that the authorities may add hate-crime charges. I hope so, and I hope they prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.

I'm hoping one of the friendlier news outlets pick this up, what with the viral spread of the video, but I don't know that I have the clout to forward something myself.

From Bilerico Project: Transwoman Attacked at Baltimore McDonalds

Transgender Woman Severely Beaten at Baltimore McDonalds While Employees Watch

Jumping back onto topic for a moment, I'd like to direct everyone's attention to this news item.  You may have seen it already.  If not, please take a look.  The video is disturbing.  It was shot by a worker at the McDonalds.  Neither he nor any of his coworkers attempted to stop the fight.  Then he uploaded the video to WorldStarHipHop Video Tube, which appears to be an urban (read black) version of YouTube., in an effort to get his fifteen minutes.

The victim hasn't been identified, and there seems to be some debate amongst the rabble as to whether she's trans or not, but the perpetrators have been arrested.  They may be facing hate crime charges.  Every time I hear about legislators refusing to grant public accomodations protection to LGBT people, I think of incidents like these.  I wish stuff like this would stop happening.

Under The Pink

In case anyone's been under a rock for the last week or so, the news has been full of pink lately.  A while back J. Crew posted this on their website.  Conservative voices in the media went batshit insane.  Jon Stewart christened it "Toemageddon", and his response was high-larious.

Over the weekend I read an article on Smithsonian, When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?.  It's most informative.  Be sure to check out the attached slideshow (it's listed as "More Photos").  I found it to be very eye-opening.

As for me, there's no pink in my immediate area.  If I get a tax refund, I'll see about remedying that.  I haven't had a pedicure since December, and maybe bright pink toes would cheer me up.  I could certainly use some of that.

Witchcraft

There's a Tea Party rep running for Congress in Delaware. Her name is Christine O'Donnell. Since her nomination last week, she's been dodging appearances on various television programs. This isn't really a new thing; all of the Tea Party candidates have done this. If they don't appear on shows hosted by people who don't share their views, then they don't have to answer hard questions about their positions, some of which are admittedly odd.

One of the hosts whose show she's declined to appear on is Bill Maher, the host of HBO's Real Time. I didn't know this, but Ms. O'Donnell was a frequent guest on Bill's old program, Politically Incorrect. Bill had promised to show clips from her old appearances every week until she consents to appear on his program. Last Friday, he showed a clip where she claimed to have "dabbled into witchcraft".

I know a little something about dabbling IN witchcraft. I dabbled IN Wicca. I stood in circles on the Sabbat. I stood for the God in certain rites. In March of 1993, I went to Virginia Beach with some friends. We cast a circle on the shore under the full moon when it was in perigee (that's when it's as close to the Earth as it ever gets). That was an awesome experience, with the beach awash in all sorts of energies. In the end, it wasn't for me, anymore than any faith is.

Dabbling INTO witchcraft sounds like she peed in it or something. I also dislike the association she made between witchcraft and Satanism. Wicca is a legitimate religion, recognized by the government and everything. In 2007, the organization in charge of marking soldiers' graves allowed the Pentacle to be placed on the headstones of the fallen, along with the symbols of other soldiers' faiths. Satanism, on the other hand, is just a bunch of silly anti-God claptrap. I can do anti-God without any silly rituals or pretense at evil deeds. I used to know some Satanists, and they were just people who liked to drink and drug and screw around and pretend they needed some higher (or lower) power's blessing to do it. I think the Wiccans have it right: "An' it harm none, do as thou wilt."

All that said, Christine O'Donnell is NOT one of my people. She's human, and American, but that's all we have in common.

Oh, in case anyone was wondering, I haven't made it to the movies yet. Thursday night I felt like crap, and stayed home in bed. Ditto for Sunday. I will get out sometime this week, if it kills me.

EDIT: Rereading this post, I realized I misused a word. I wrote "perihelion" when I meant "perigee". Perigee is when an orbiting body gets as close to the object it orbits. "Perihelion" is when an object gets as close to the sun as it ever gets. No one is paying attention. LLLLL would have caught that one in a heartbeat.

Dog Days Again (Because I Can)

I probably should have included the video in that previous post for lazy folk, but I was at work when I originally wrote it, and I'm still testing the limits of their internet permissions. Anyway, here's Florence in all her glory:

Technical Difficulties

So I was trying to add my Youtube playlist to the sidebar here, and it keeps giving me a random selection of other people's vids, none of which are in either my faves or my custom playlist. Meh.

The Muppets Do "Carol of the Bells"

Well, sorta.

As Long as I'm Flogging Other People's Stuff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL5u2xi6mNQ

This is the new trailer for Mass Effect 2. I can barely contain my excitement about this game. Lucky for me, I only have to wait until January. I like this "Legion" character. So far it's got the best lines.

"We do not experience fear, but we understand how it affects you. Organics do not choose to fear us; it is a function of your hardware."

Ooooh. Scary monsters.

Freaky Deaky! (New Lady Gaga Video)

This is the new Lady Gaga video. It premiered about four days ago. It's got intricate makeup, elaborate costumes, and freaky shoes (courtesy of Alexander McQueen). Drag artists all over the planet are no doubt choreographing numbers based on it. I might've even found a costume for next Halloween. I love it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsthwTUTylQ

Sesame Street

I used to watch Sesame Street, when I was little. This week is the fortieth anniversary of the show, and to commemorate that, the last three days Google has featured characters from the show in their header. Wednesday the "L" in Google was Big Bird's legs. The day after, Cookie Monster had his mouth all over the top, like he was "Nom, nom, nom"-ing the search box. Today it's Bert and Ernie, television's first socially acceptable gay couple. Ba-doom boom.

Thank you. Thank you. I'll be here all week. Please don't forget to tip your waitresses.

Sorry. It's been a long, stressful week, and I thought a little levity would lighten the atmosphere.

EDIT: Yes. Yes! I KNOW Bert and Ernie are not really gay. That's one of those horrible urban legends, dating back to the early 90s, at least. It was meant as a joke. One in poor taste, perhaps, but a joke all the same.

Good Enough

I'm behind the times, I know. No MP3 player here. I still buy CDs, if only intermittently. I don't even listen to the radio all that much anymore, so I tend to be behind the curve when it comes to discovering new music. Leave it to me to fall in love with a song that came out two years ago. I was watching a Sheryl Crow video on YouTube yesterday, and this popped up as a suggestion. How did I miss this?

As an experiment, I added the song in an Imeem player on the right side of the screen.

The lyrics have me a little twisted inside. The submissive in me knows how it feels, while the liberated indie in me wants to know "WTF?"

Under your spell again
I can't say no to you
Crave my heart and it's bleeding in your hand
I can't say no to you...

Primetime: Family Secrets

I'm watching this program on ABC as I type this out. I met Chloe Prince at a Pink Essence Girls' Night Out last year, and I've been reading her blogs since then. I know this story, as much as anyone who on the outside can, but seeing it on TV is an emotional experience.

You Shall Not Murder

I think I've made my views on religion clear enough here, but I am not above lifting the occasional religious material when it suits my purposes. The above is one of the biblical Ten Commandments. It's usually quoted as "Thou shalt not kill", but I prefer the other way.

I read the news last night and I almost choked. What year is it, 1989? 1995? I thought we were past the whole business of assassinating doctors associated with abortion. I don't usually talk about abortion. Much as I might wish it, I will never bear a child of my own, so I think that precludes me from having a say. That said, I completely support a woman's right to control of her own body. I wholeheartedly support any doctor who provides that kind of care.

Remember the furor back in the winter when the DHS issued its warning about right-wing extremism? This is the sort of thing they were talking about.

As with every other hot-button issue, this is being discussed and prognosticated upon by better writers than I am, so I'll leave it to them. I just wanted to let y'all know where I stand.

Waterboard Me!

Regular readers of this blog have probably noted that I am a regular viewer of the MSNBC program Countdown with Keith Olbermann. It hasn't always been so. I used to just watch "straight" news, with little or no commentary. Mom used to love watching Countdown, and it was something we bonded over. I became a regular viewer after I moved back to Virginia, and I try to not miss it. It's not always great, but it's rarely boring (except when Keith is off and David Shuster hosts, but that's a story for another time).



Keith Olbermann is frequently at odds with his "rivals" at the Fox News channel. One particular issue that sticks in his craw is our government's use of torture, contrary to international law. A couple of weeks ago, Sean Hannity, a Fox News personality, "jokingly" offered himself as a subject for waterboarding. Hannity's guest made an aside about using the occasion as a money-raising event for a military charity. The following night, Olbermann made the offer of $10,000 for charity, for every second of waterboarding Hannity endures. Sounds like a good deal, no? Apparently not, as Hannity has never responded to Olbermann's offer. Each since, Keith has counted the days since Hannity's offer, and his own counter-offer. I like Keith, but I'm a little tired of this shtick.

I have a proposal: waterboard me. Don't misunderstand. I KNOW waterboarding is torture, and I have no great desire to be tortured by anyone, for any reason. This ongoing dispute is standing in the way of Mr. Olbermann giving his money to charity. I see no reason to prolong the process. If Mr. Hannity will not submit himself for charity waterboarding, I offer myself instead. I'll admit, waterboarding me lacks the cachet of doing it to someone like Mr. Hannity. I'm just a half-out transgender blogger, while Mr. Hannity is a Fox News blowhard. I also don't represent any charity organization, but there are plenty of military/veteran charities out there, and I'm sure any one of them would stand up for Mr. Olbermann's money.

EDIT: I did not discover until very early this morning that Wanda Sykes covered this in her White House Press Association Dinner monologue. Just in case anyone thinks I was trying to steal her material.

Another Magazine Story

I have a subscription to Esquire. I've been reading the magazine since the early 90s, and I've been a subscriber for about eight years. When I was younger, and still wrapped up in trying to be a man, I read this magazine religiously. It was like a bible of masculinity. There are a ton of men's magazines out there. I picked up this one when most of my fellows were reading Maxim, FHM or Stuff. Esquire is like those magazines, but not much. It's written for a more mature audience. Not much more mature (it is written for men, after all).

Anyway, the theme of the May 2009 issue is "How to Be a Man". I'm reading it, but not because I want to be a man. There are some interesting bits in here: a couple of recipes, some interviews with various persons, and a series of very striking portraits. Other than that, I'm overdosing on the testosterone. It is as though I've lost all capacity to be interested in the material. The "Funny Joke from a Beautiful Woman" isn't even funny this month.

I've never been what anyone would call a typical male, anyway. I'm not interested in sports. I can do some basic auto repairs, but I'm happier if I can pay someone else to do it. I'm an airplane nut, but my interest over time has grown away from performance specs towards a purer appreciation based on aesthetical considerations.

Nacho Drag?

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this on TV last night. I can't make up my wind whether it's funny or tasteless.



"Are you wearing makeup?"
"Don't judge me!"

Trans-Positive: Story in Marie Claire, April 2009

I couldn't find a link to this article on the magazine's website, so I'm going to post it here, in it's entirety. If someone could point me towards a proper link, I'll remove this later.

BOYS WILL BE GIRLS
Bangkok may be the sex-change capital of Asia, but transgenders - also called "the third sex" and "ladyboys" - still live on the fringes, often denied secure work that pays and anything resembling acceptance. A ray of hope: At Suan Dusit University, a new initiative to openly recruit ladyboys has drawn 100 of them to the school, where they can wear the girls' uniform and behave "like ladies" without facing discrimination, and where other transgenders teach and serve as role models. "I couldn't wait to come here," says 21-year-old Wittaya Jannoi, a pretty, hormone-enhanced marketing major who hopes to have a sex change after graduation. "We can be ourselves, because we don't have to hide."

Yeah, I could've put this up on Trans Talk, but I'm lazy.

March NLTO Recap

I forgot to mention that Saturday was this month's NLTO meeting. There were a few more people there this month, which is a good thing. My friend Debbie (who has appeared here before) brought another lady named Debbie. We met Sharon, who is getting out of the Navy this year. My friend Kathy brought her genderqueer friend Ashley. We spent the first part of the meeting getting to know each other.

LLLLL did a presentation about this year's Camp Trans; it sounds like a lot of fun, but I'm a city girl at heart. I'm too high-maintenance to rough it in the middle of nowhere (Michigan) in June. We talked about this month's Movie Night. It's the last that'll be at Ericka and Linda's; alas, they're moving to Alexandria. Anyway, this month's selection is Yentl, with Barbra Streisand and Mandy Patinkin. I haven't seen that since I was in grade school (it was on HBO), so it'll be almost like seeing it for the first time.

We had another clothing swap. There was more to choose from, and I actually found a few nice pieces. I got a (tight) pair of jeans and a denim mini that used to be Michelle Marie's, and a few tops that were Debbie's. One of the tops is leopard print (!) and I'll need to wear my smaller forms ('cause it's a little revealing). All that didn't go home with someone will be donated to the CHKD thrift store.

Before we broke up for the night, we broke up into little groups and chatted about stuff: blogs, Battlestar Galactica, physics, politics, etc, ad nauseam.

I got home a little later than usual. I didn't have dinner before the meeting, and as good as Giles' cookies are, I needed something more substantial. Nate rolled in from work a little after I got in, and he hadn't eaten either, so I ended up ordering in Domino's. If you're looking for a recommendation, the Memphis BBQ Chicken pizza is awesome! The delivery driver hardly batted an eye when I answered the door en femme.

I stayed up to watch a little TV: CSI Miami reruns on A&E, then Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex (my fave anime) on Adult Swim. There's a whole discourse I could write about being trans and relating to the themes on this show (and especially the music), but that'll wait for another post.

Law & Order Repeat

For anyone who, like me didn't see last week's episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit all the way through, the episode, "Transitions", will re-air tonight on the USA Network at midnight. That gives me plenty to watch tonight, with the first part of the "Ryloth Trilogy" of Star Wars: Clone Wars on the Cartoon Network, and one of the last episodes of Battlestar Galactica on SciFi. Yeah, this girl is a nerd.

Correction: the SVU episode actually runs on Saturday night.