January 2011
Our house was broken into today
onetinycorner:
Laptop - with at least a month’s working on my book, as well as countless papers - gone.
Jewelrey, of the kind my wife and I bought for each other from the start of our relationship gone. The little $14 green heart that I wore every day I was apart from my love for two years is gone.
Oh, and they took our trash bas (presumably to steal our stuff better), and toilet paper. Who...
December 2010
“Oh gosh. You know, honestly, the outcome I would like from Glee… I would like to...”
– That would be me, in a roundtable on Glee. You can read all about it in this transcript the awesome Anna prepared.
I Fry Mine In Butter: Death of the Independent... →
The Fisher Brothers-Krohener rivalry makes a nice shorthand for the battle of good and evil, mass production versus artisan work, caring funerals versus assembly lines, and it appears to be mirrored in the real world of the funeral industry as well. SCI has been repeatedly fingered in the news for slipshod practices, antitrust violations, and a host of other unpleasantries. This may be a case...
Ellen Cushing at East Bay Express: Is Oakland Now... →
When the City of Oakland laid off eighty of its police officers in July — leaving the city among the most under-policed of its size nationwide — nobody quite knew what this would mean for the city’s crime rate. While recent statistics have shown that violent crime is down this year, those involved with the local graffiti scene say the layoffs have made Oakland, always a popular...
Ellen Cushing at East Bay Express: Is Oakland Now... →
When the City of Oakland laid off eighty of its police officers in July — leaving the city among the most under-policed of its size nationwide — nobody quite knew what this would mean for the city’s crime rate. While recent statistics have shown that violent crime is down this year, those involved with the local graffiti scene say the layoffs have made Oakland, always a popular...
Jim Schutze at Dallas Observer: Mass deportation,... →
But Riddle was only hitting her stride on the Anderson Cooper show. After the November 2 election, she camped out on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives in Austin for an entire weekend so that she would be first in line when the House opened for business Monday morning. The minute the chief clerk opened his door, Riddle handed him a bill that was a direct copycat of...
Jim Schutze at Dallas Observer: Mass deportation,... →
But Riddle was only hitting her stride on the Anderson Cooper show. After the November 2 election, she camped out on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives in Austin for an entire weekend so that she would be first in line when the House opened for business Monday morning. The minute the chief clerk opened his door, Riddle handed him a bill that was a direct copycat of...
Michael May at Texas Observer: Praying For Votes →
After the service, I approach one of the pastors and ask why there are so many cars in the parking lot, yet few people in the pews. He informs me that most of the people at the church aren’t worshiping; there are another few dozen attending a youth group in the basement and still more taking English and computer lessons in a sprawling facility behind the chapel. Like many Hispanic...
Michael May at Texas Observer: Praying For Votes →
After the service, I approach one of the pastors and ask why there are so many cars in the parking lot, yet few people in the pews. He informs me that most of the people at the church aren’t worshiping; there are another few dozen attending a youth group in the basement and still more taking English and computer lessons in a sprawling facility behind the chapel. Like many Hispanic...
this ain't livin': The Face of Exploitation →
The exploitation of farm workers in the United States is something I’ve discussed before, and I’ve also discussed how difficult it is to escape exploitative labour practices. Yet, it’s something that doesn’t get as much attention as animal exploitation, by and large, unless you happen to be moving in a circle where people care about farm workers’ rights. Not for nothing do most of the ad...
Richard Connelly at Houston Press: Halliburton... →
Now Halliburton is a huge company with a massive number of employees, some of whom, it’s safe to assume, have gotten pregnant and kept their jobs.
But do they discriminate against pregnant women? Looks like a Dallas jury will get a chance to decide.
Richard Connelly at Houston Press: Halliburton... →
Now Halliburton is a huge company with a massive number of employees, some of whom, it’s safe to assume, have gotten pregnant and kept their jobs.
But do they discriminate against pregnant women? Looks like a Dallas jury will get a chance to decide.
Here are some things you should know about...
Asexuality is diverse and there are many different ways for asexuality to express. If you want to learn more about asexuality and the ace community, the AVEN Wiki is a good place to start.
Asexual people are not ‘broken,’ experiences of sexual assault, rape, abuse, etc. do not ‘turn people asexual.’
Asexual people can be and are kinky. (Hi!)
Asexual people consume and...
visible
One of the things members of marginalised groups are often told is that they should be more visible to break down stereotypes and stigmas; how can people learn if they aren’t aware of the details of the identities of the people all around them? I don’t really subscribe to this idea and in fact strongly oppose the claim that people are required to flay themselves for the education and...
Joel Warner at Denver Westword: Medical marijuana... →
The advisory board will be comprised of retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Sullivan and other folks who know there way around the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury and the Department of Health and Human Services. As Sullivan noted in a release, “The military advisory...
Joel Warner at Denver Westword: Medical marijuana... →
The advisory board will be comprised of retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Sullivan and other folks who know there way around the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury and the Department of Health and Human Services. As Sullivan noted in a release, “The military advisory...
California Inmates Receive Mental Health Care... →
Perhaps the saddest thing of all is that with prison inmates being so disproportionately low-income, and mental health services being so inaccessible to those without insurance (and even many with), these sessions are the only form of mental health care that many of these patients can ever hope to receive. And they’re getting it not only within the racist, classist, ableist, misogynistic,...
California Inmates Receive Mental Health Care... →
Perhaps the saddest thing of all is that with prison inmates being so disproportionately low-income, and mental health services being so inaccessible to those without insurance (and even many with), these sessions are the only form of mental health care that many of these patients can ever hope to receive. And they’re getting it not only within the racist, classist, ableist, misogynistic,...
Alex Woodward at Gambit: Bayou Polluters →
On Oct. 29, 2007, ConocoPhillips’ Lake Charles refinery issued a follow-up report to an Oct. 22 accident there: A vacuum truck was removing acid from a containment area, an a chemical reaction with materials inside the truck caused a release of hydrogen sulfide. Nine employees were medically evaluated. One died.
That 83-pound release of hydrogen sulfide is less than the 100-pound ...
Alex Woodward at Gambit: Bayou Polluters →
On Oct. 29, 2007, ConocoPhillips’ Lake Charles refinery issued a follow-up report to an Oct. 22 accident there: A vacuum truck was removing acid from a containment area, an a chemical reaction with materials inside the truck caused a release of hydrogen sulfide. Nine employees were medically evaluated. One died.
That 83-pound release of hydrogen sulfide is less than the 100-pound ...
Gustavo Arellano at Orange County Weekly: A Trip... →
It’s easy to make fun of Taco Bell—very easy—but in more genteel circles than this infernal rag, I defend the company quite often. Sure, their food is slightly edible, but it’s their take on Mexican that allowed the cuisine to further spread around the country, spawn a boatload of imitators, and spur people aghast with the idea that Taco Bell was defining Mexican...
Gustavo Arellano at Orange County Weekly: A Trip... →
It’s easy to make fun of Taco Bell—very easy—but in more genteel circles than this infernal rag, I defend the company quite often. Sure, their food is slightly edible, but it’s their take on Mexican that allowed the cuisine to further spread around the country, spawn a boatload of imitators, and spur people aghast with the idea that Taco Bell was defining Mexican...
I'm watching 'Smashed'
And I am struck by the fact that Buffy’s creative team, when faced with a scenario where you have two powerful magic users being harassed by annoying dudes at a bar and fighting back, realising the fantasy of many viewers…of all the revenge ideas they could choose from…they go for turning the annoying dudes gay. That really showed them! Boy howdy!
this ain't livin': Social Justice Matters:... →
If you are transgender, you are more likely to be incarcerated, as discussed above. Once you enter incarceration, you are more likely to be inappropriately housed, because most systems use a highly medicalised, cissexist, and binarist system for making housing assignments. If you are assaulted while in prison, which you most probably will be, you are less likely to be provided with...
Rachel Leibrock at Sacramento News and Review:... →
My mother used to call it the American Dream: Get married, work hard and buy a house so you’d be in debt for the rest of your working life. In 2005, my husband Cory and I happily bought into that dream when we purchased our first home, a two-bedroom house in Sacramento.
Today, five and a half years later, we’re in danger of losing our home—even though we never missed a single mortgage...
Rachel Leibrock at Sacramento News and Review:... →
My mother used to call it the American Dream: Get married, work hard and buy a house so you’d be in debt for the rest of your working life. In 2005, my husband Cory and I happily bought into that dream when we purchased our first home, a two-bedroom house in Sacramento.
Today, five and a half years later, we’re in danger of losing our home—even though we never missed a single mortgage...
Rachel Leibrock at Sacramento News and Review:... →
My mother used to call it the American Dream: Get married, work hard and buy a house so you’d be in debt for the rest of your working life. In 2005, my husband Cory and I happily bought into that dream when we purchased our first home, a two-bedroom house in Sacramento.
Today, five and a half years later, we’re in danger of losing our home—even though we never missed a single mortgage...
Rachel Hutton at City Pages: Gingerbread guys gone... →
Seeing what sorts of abuses gingerbread men undergo during the holiday season, it’s no surprise that the tasty little guys are running as fast as they can.
Rachel Hutton at City Pages: Gingerbread guys gone... →
Seeing what sorts of abuses gingerbread men undergo during the holiday season, it’s no surprise that the tasty little guys are running as fast as they can.
Carina Ost at SF Weekly: Top 10 Fictional Foodies... →
Foodies may be a relatively new term, but they have long played a role in our TV, movie, and book enjoyment. From the cookie-loving Marcel Proust and his madeleine-sparked remembrances to Cookie Monster on Sesame Street, food lovin’ is all around. Just look at our cartoon friends: Garfield loved lasagna, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craved pizza power, Popeye needed spinach, and Wimpy...
Carina Ost at SF Weekly: Top 10 Fictional Foodies... →
Foodies may be a relatively new term, but they have long played a role in our TV, movie, and book enjoyment. From the cookie-loving Marcel Proust and his madeleine-sparked remembrances to Cookie Monster on Sesame Street, food lovin’ is all around. Just look at our cartoon friends: Garfield loved lasagna, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craved pizza power, Popeye needed spinach, and Wimpy...
this ain't livin': Follow the Runoff →
One thing that tends to get elided when people talk about runoff from a biology perspective is the impact on human communities. People talk about loss of income as a result of things like fish kills, but there’s less of a focus on things like who cannot use waterways when they are flooded with toxins, who is exposed to serious health risks as a result of the uncontrolled release of manure, who...
Hank Sims at The Journal: The Train Geeks Return →
Wait a minute. You say this is incorrect? You say that rail service to Humboldt County as dead as it has been for a decade, or even deader? You say that not even the NCRA itself can pretend it has any hope of restoring service to Humboldt County any time in the foreseeable future? You say that it hasn’t even managed to open any track at all yet, and its scattered and outdated mission...
Hank Sims at The Journal: The Train Geeks Return →
Wait a minute. You say this is incorrect? You say that rail service to Humboldt County as dead as it has been for a decade, or even deader? You say that not even the NCRA itself can pretend it has any hope of restoring service to Humboldt County any time in the foreseeable future? You say that it hasn’t even managed to open any track at all yet, and its scattered and outdated mission...
