onward through the ether

interesting...compare & contrast...

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:23:11 GMT

url's for more detailed view:
Obama
McCain

Please watch.

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:07:41 GMT

Dispatches

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:22:49 GMT

Well, so much more to say from the campaign front. In the meantime, here's a tidbit from a relatively short article on Salon...the author moonlighted as a rent-a-cop during the RNC (not of the riot-gear sort).

Article can be found here: Confessions of an RNC Security Guard, I think the close is the most interesting part...

5 a.m.
...All the hotels in the area are dark. Thousands of Republicans stir in their beds, dreaming thousands of dreams about Sarah Palin. But Charles Hunter, an environmentalist delegate from New Hampshire and a veteran of Republican conventions going back to the 1980 coronation of Ronald Reagan at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, can't sleep at all.

"This is my last convention," he tells me, lighting a cigarette.

"Why?"

"I'm a real McCain guy. I served. But I liked the old McCain -- when he was a true hero, before he signed on with the yahoos. I actually believe in 'country first.'"

"Not a fan of Palin?"

"If I were McCain I'd probably bring her onto my ticket, too. That's exactly the problem. I guess I tricked myself into thinking that McCain, even after he watered himself down for the election, could somehow restore sanity. The Democrats tried to paint him as a twin of Bush. Not true. But Palin ... she does remind me of Bush. McCain has made a devil's pact and sealed this party's fate."

Even though he's old, he smokes his cigarette like a young man, with earnest haste, before he flicks it off into the dark.

"That's it," he said, "we're through. Even if we win, we've lost."

Be informed.

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 05:51:14 GMT

This is long but worth the read. Clear, concise, un-sensational...in as much as political falling/failing upwards isn't so sensational these days...a local Wasilla (AK) woman's view of Palin the politician [all the personal information about the author has been removed]:

~~~~
Dear friends,

So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .

Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in common: their gender and their good looks. :)

You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts with my name and email address attached, but please do not post it on any websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .

ABOUT SARAH PALIN
I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because she is a “babe”.

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months. She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out here” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

She’s smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s surplus, borrow for needs.

She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated” her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness. Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit, exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.

CLAIM vs. FACT
• “Hockey mom”: true for a few years
• “PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since
• “NRA supporter”: absolutely true
• social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
• pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.
• “Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation
• “Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.
• political maverick: not at all
• gutsy: absolutely!
• open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
• has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
• “a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
• fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
• pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
• pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents
• pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla’s history.
• pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name, you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall--they are swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000”, up to 9,000. The day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.

It's that time again...

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:37:41 GMT

LGBTQ Office of Culture & Community at Columbia College Chicago presents
GENDER FUSIONS 4
Busting Up the Binaries!
An annual queer spectacle in 3 acts.
April 25 & 26, 2008
Co-sponsors: Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media, Office of Multicultural Affairs, English Department, Common Ground & Amigas Latinas.

Join us for the new & improved, extended remix of the 4th annual Gender Fusions—where the heat & steam, the pressure & resistance of forging gender/queer community combusts into new geographies and constellations. We invite you to reflect & revel in the uproar of busting up the binaries of race, class, gender, sexuality, nation.

1.
Friday, April 25, 6–8:30p | FREE!
gaylesbiantransfagdykequeer: naming desire and identity in media
Film Screening and dialogue with filmmakers sam feder & jules rosskam
Film Clips include: Boy I Am, F.Scott Fitzgerald Slept Here & Transparent
@ Columbia College Chicago Film Row Cinema, 1104 S. Wabash, 8th Floor

2.
Saturday, April 26, 3:30–5:30p | FREE!
Forging New Queer Geographies: Busting Up the Binaries!
Speakers and community dialogue, including Marga Gomez, Matthew Hollis & Ryka Aoki de La Cruz. Moderated by Sam Park.
@ Columbia College Chicago Film Row Cinema, 1104 S. Wabash, 8th Floor

3.
Saturday, April 26, Doors open 7:30p; 8p Showtime! | $5 for students & senior citizens, $10 general
Gender Fusions 4 Performance Spectacle!
* Drag * Burlesque * Poetry * Song* Dance * Theater * Gay snax * After-party *
Featuring sassy & outragious headliners Marga Gomez, Matthew Hollis, Ryka Aoki de La Cruz. With stellar Chicagoland performers Teatro Luna, Jyl Fehrenkamp, Avery R. Young, Nikki Patin, Misty DeBerry, Johnny T., Sharon St. James, plus a bevy of queerlicious Columbia College student talent!
@ Columbia College Chicago Conaway Center, 1104 S. Wabash, 1st Floor

TIX
To reserve & purchase tickets call the Columbia Box Office at 312-344-6126. Tickets available at the door. Cash only. Bring your student & senior citizen IDs for discount. Comp tickets are available for Columbia College students. First come first serve. Call the LGBTQ Office at 312-344-8594 to reserve comp tickets or for more info.

For the spectacle, we invite you to pull out your wig, your superhero cape, your leather chaps, your grandfather's bowtie, your sister's prom dress or anything fabulous to add your spin to the mix. Bust up your own binary! Who knows, you might just win a prize....

* Proceeds benefit post-production of the film "still black", a portrait of black trans men directed by kortney ryan ziegler and produced by awilda rodriguez lara. *

Get infused!

damn.

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:06:43 GMT

Sigh. Shit like this keeps me up at night.

On a related note: Heard this guy Dan Koeppel on Fresh Air today (2-18-08 episode)...one window into the effed up "behind-the-scenes" of the food industry over time. His book is Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World. During the interview he references the expansive--and lasting/lingering--political, cultural, etc., etc. upheaval the banana industry wrought in Latin America.

Check out the episode.

Boggles the mind...the interwoven, interdependant, societal, geopolitical, it-was-all-in-motion-before-I-got-here-yet-but-wtf!?!, built-in complicitness. Argh! Gotta love modern (first-world, privileged, consumer...etc., etc.) livin'!!

Lucy timing update...

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:37:38 GMT

Hope this isn't TMI or anything... The vet's now coming to the house a little bit later, around 7pm, in case anyone wants to have Lucy in their hearts and minds....

Off to pick up that cheese burger!

unhappy pet day...

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:46:37 GMT

Today is Lucy's last day. The vet will be arriving at our place sometime around 4pm, so Bee has taken the day off to spend some final QT with the Luz. They're both a wreck. Despite all of the pain meds, Lucy's clearly in constant pain and can barely stand/walk. She's in one unforeseen crises after the next, unless she's still and in her bed (and even then there's issues). Bee is understandably an emotional wreck and I'm a little bit worried about her. While we've anticipated having to put Lucy to sleep for several months at this point, it's been trying to figure out when it'd be the "right" moment, when it would seem that she'd reach whatever unknown, seemingly arbitrary, bottomed out, point-of-no-return. That "point" never arrived as a big ah-ha moment...but it's been pretty clear for a little while that now is the time, before she takes a greater turn for the worse. (Which is hard to imagine.) So now the timing is definitive and scheduled...which is it's own strangeness. There has been mourning leading up to today, but Lucy is still here...it's happening and limbo-like all at once. A tough part was that we didn't know if the vet could come today or Monday until yesterday evening...such a strange thing to schedule and anticipate.

A friend at work recommended a good end-of-life pet book, which has been a help to Bee at least. It helps me to know this is for the best, the best things we can do for Lucy, but it's been really hard for Bee, who's not so great at endings anyway. Lucy has been in her life for over 12 years...(we think she spent 2 or 3 years as a stray as a pup). So Lucy has had a good long, happy run in this world. Lots of adventures and crazy high-jinx over the years, lots of friends and lots of time in the woods and a lots of years in Austin...which is good for anyone.

Sigh. So finite though. Dang.

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:09:47 GMT

Firebelly Holiday Art Market

11am–5pm - Saturday, December 15th

2701 W Thomas, 2nd Floor, Chicago

Come to the FB Holiday Art Market from 11-5 on Saturday, December 15th and see what the Firebelly family makes in its free time: original + affordable art, prints, posters, journals, cards, t-shirts, plush toys, clothing, accessories, food + more.....including a whole wall devoted to 50 pieces of art under $50!

HANDMADE ONE OF A KIND GOODS FROM:
Firebelly Design / Art School Girl / Good Night TV / Delicious Design League / Qylaar / Katie Hates Couture / Rick Valicenti / Nako Design / Will Miller + Nick Santore / Valicenti Vittles / Jeanie Kirk's Cooking / Sun Young Park / Ilsa Flanagan / Its A Tie / The Bungaloo / Spike Press / Anne Benjamin / Esther Ramirez / Brian Kelly (dj)

* 50% of all sales will be donated to the 2007 Firebelly Design Grantee, The Illinois Safe Schools Alliance.

A new, healthy personality!!

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 05:37:37 GMT

The Bush admin./US policy suddenly comes into focus....

So...who's down to read the book together...? Really.

Governor Slashes Arts Funding! ACT NOW! (repost)

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 17:59:19 GMT

Dear Friend in the Arts,

Governor Rod Blagojevich wants to cut over $7 million (30%) from the 2008 Illinois Art Council (IAC) budget.

A chorus of voices is needed to restore state's investment in the arts and arts education! We must act now to send a powerful message to Governor Rod Blagojevich, Senate President Emil Jones, House Speaker Michael Madigan, and other state lawmakers that the arts are not pork!

The Governor's FY08 spending plan will significantly reduce the funds available for IAC grant programs, with a devastating impact on the arts statewide. Furthermore, the Governor completely eliminated the Arts and Foreign Language grant program through the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

Please tell Governor Blagojevich, senate and house leadership, and your state lawmakers TODAY how essential the arts are to you and your community. The Illinois Arts Alliance has made it extremely easy for you to effectively advocate for the arts. Here is what you can do:

1) Write two e-letters to lawmakers using the talking points provided in the links below.

a. One requesting that funding for the Illinois Arts Council be restored to $23.2 million as proposed by the General Assembly on August 10, 2007

Click Here: http://capwiz.com/artsusa/il/issues/alert/?alertid=10235401&type=ML&show_alert=1

b. The other urging lawmakers to restore funding to the Arts and Foreign Language grant program through the Illinois State Board of Education.

Click Here: http://capwiz.com/artsusa/il/issues/alert/?alertid=10235931&type=ML&show_alert=1

2) Make two phone calls to the numbers listed below expressing your concern with the proposed budget cuts to the arts and urging that funding be fully restored for the Illinois Arts Council and the Illinois State Board of Education's Arts and Foreign Language grant program.

a)
Ginger Ostro
Budget Director for Governors Office of Management and Budget
Ginger.ostro@illinois.gov
312-814-0023

b)
Governor Rod Blagojevich
312-814-2121 (Chicago) OR 217-558-0880 (Springfield)

The Illinois Arts Alliance is moving forward with an aggressive campaign to restore full funding for the Illinois Arts Council and arts and foreign language education funding at the Illinois State Board of Education. We NEED your help now more than ever before! While the road ahead is rocky, together we can restore full funding
for the arts in Illinois!

Should you have any questions or concerns please contact me at 312-855-3105 ext 14 or email joy@artsalliance.org

Sincerely,
Ra Joy
Executive Director
Illinois Arts Alliance

I heart Tina Fey.

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 19:04:22 GMT

heh.

Alright people...pony up!

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 22:21:20 GMT

FB Art Market!!

SAT. JUNE 9TH / 11a-5p / 2701 W. Thomas (Chicago)

Homemade, one-of-a-kind goods. 50% of sales will be donated to the Lisa Tonna Fund! (Lisa is a 37-year-old anti-tobacco advocate who's battling the disease she's been fighting to save others from, Stage 4 lung cancer.)

Listen up!

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 22:05:21 GMT

Well hello Murry Hill!! But...apparently there's some controversy about this video. Follow this link for the previous incarnation.

Compare/contrast...?

Impeach Gonzales, Part II

Wed, 30 May 2007 18:31:44 GMT

Sign the petition here: impeachgonzales.org.

Gonzo-A-Go-Go (Pretty please?)

Tue, 22 May 2007 18:08:39 GMT

Sign the petition here: impeachgonzales.org.

it's official...

Mon, 14 May 2007 20:45:39 GMT

transgender is mainstream.

see synopsis and cover story.

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 22:17:22 GMT

Appropriation at it's not-so-finest.
(I <3 Photoshop.)

What you gon' do with all that junk?

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:33:11 GMT

Leslie Feinburg and Leslie & the Ly's

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 00:14:13 GMT

GENDER FUSIONS 3
Gender-Go-Round on the Playground!

* Keynote Leslie Feinberg * Dialogue * Performance Spectacle * Leslie & the Ly's *

Co-mingle in the grit & dirt, the camp & glam of queer liberation.

The third annual night of queer performance & community dialogue, featuring renowned transgender warrior Leslie Feinberg, the gem-a-rific Leslie & the Ly's ... and a spectacle of drag, burlesque, spoken word, theater, dance and song from Columbia College Chicago and a host of Chicago performers.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007, 6-11pm
HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo
$5 Students & Seniors / $10 General Admission

Featuring ... About Face Theatre, Mercedes Bone't, Cabaret of the Nameless, Peter Carpenter, Betty Cracker, Death From Below, Misty DeBerry, Ames Hawkins, Lott Hill, Matthew Hollis, E. Patrick Johnson, Ni'Ja & King Kush, Joan Larkin, Sam Park, Red Tremmel and more, plus a host of student performers from Columbia College Chicago. Hosted by Sharon St. James & Johnny T.

5:30pm – Doors Open
6pm – Leslie Feinberg, "Performance, Pride & Queer Liberation"
7pm – Panel Discussion
8pm – The Performance Spectacle
10pm – Leslie & the Lys

Buy your tickets in advance at hothouse.net.

Come in your own genderplay attire and enter a raffle to win super-queer prizes. And don't miss the After-Party at the Funky Buddha Lounge, 728 W. Grand Ave; $3 entrance, $1 drinks for all GF3 participants.

A Holey Rollerz Production sponsored by the Office of GLBT Student Concerns, Q-FORCE and Institute for the Study of Women & Gender in the Arts and Media, Columbia College Chicago.

(Proceeds to benefit a recent survivor of a transphobic hate crime.)

"Poets breathe once with me now."

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:01:51 GMT

Adam Gottlieb from YCA's "Louder Than A Bomb" on Saturday ...

Take a listen. >

What you can't hear in this audio is that the entire audience took several, audible breaths together as instructed. It's late, my brain is fuzzy ... so I can't quite put it into words why, exactly ... but this poem struck a chord with me. Adam: thanks for the poem and performance.

(Tip of the mic to wbez.org ... and Audio Hijack.)

Are you listening?

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 18:09:16 GMT

Internet radio affront...! Leave it to the feds to f*ck up one more arena of freedom and expression in favor of The Man.

Read more HERE and HERE and sign the PETITION.

Spread the word.

New depths.

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:34:33 GMT

More to say, but for starters...

Aww.

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 03:18:22 GMT

This one's for mintwaster.

From the other end of the spectrum...

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 20:25:04 GMT

...but strangely of the same era, sort of. (If you don't want to watch the whole clip, at least jump to 5:30 for classic Kermit.)

I miss Jim Henson. Sesame Street (the back-in-the-day version) is one of my (rare) fond childhood memories. It sounds corny, but I know there are ways I diverge from my family and their attitudes and ways of seeing the world AND relating to others thanks to Sesame Street.

Phew.

Oh, I like how Kermit gender-swaps throughout the segment. Nice!