David Brin

I think if you're old enough that you'd statistically likely have died by then, even though you're niche famous, the shock factor drops. I wonder how many of the people on the bottom end of the age bracket would go through with it.

It's not the first reality show evaluation my friend has tried for.

D'you remember that British ST:TNG fan who redid his apartment like the new Enterprise? And then his ex-wife tried to sell the place, and no one would meet the price he set? Apparently he ripped it out and redid it like Voyager, which seems like a completely sensible response to events. I remember lots of fans (and sensitive men (who've been hurt by women, or would just love the chance to be)) complaining about how heartless his ex was for selling the place, but I don't know if the news mentioned how long he'd been unemployed while he'd been doing this in a building she owned.

ANYWAY.

He's going to prison.

Kiddie porn.

Remember the moaning and wailing about not understanding people? More of that.

Complete tone shift: is fandango.com down for you guys too? I've been trying to buy Riddick tickets since last night.

But we killed a crossdresser a few weeks ago. Why are we so scared? Why do we keep doing that shit?

A combination of homophobia, misogyny, and fear of The Other is my kneejerk response.

Tim pretty much only crossdresses at home or parties -- virtually never in public. But he dressed for the Pride festival this year, which has grown into a HUGE event. (By "dressed," I mean vintage Candie's wooden-heeled sandals, a denim miniskirt, t-shirt, and boobs. He never wears makeup. And now he has long Thor hair, which I think helps.)

So the Pride festival is down at a park by the river, and in general, the people who go are going to be people who are accepting of general gender non-normativity. (Although, drag queens aside, my experience of the LGBT community here is that the LGB part is not really enthusiastic about the T part.)

But even so, it's still public, and anyone could go to Pride to start shit, or just watch the freaks. And so I'm there with him -- and a large group of our friends -- and I'm torn between feeling comfortable and feeling really really...ALERT. Keeping an eye out so no one tries to start shit. And it's a little stressful.

It all went fine, and Tim was happy because he never really gets a chance to dress in public, and I'm glad he got to do that. I just worry. Because...people get killed for that, you know?

On a way more frivolous note, someone is supposed to be coming to buy the packing boxes and paper from the move. Pleeeeease let this work out so this shit can be out of the house.

When we stayed in Edinburgh with my aunt and uncle (in 2002), they mentioned that the room we were staying in was also used (long-term) by a friend of theirs who cross-dressed and needed a safe place to be able to do that and keep stuff. All parties involved are past 70 now; I can't imagine what it must have been like for that guy as a young man.

When I was in college, I took a nonverbal communication class. One of the things that really stuck out to me is that human beings are pretty paralyzed (and I mean they literally have a difficult time cognitively figuring out how to interact) with people - including babies - if they don't know the gender/sex of the person.

There was tape we saw of people stumbling over their words, long pauses, people trying to assess others to figure out where to go in communications. We are so socialized as to gender roles and interactions that we NEED to know if you are a man or a women before we can even begin a conversation. We have to be trained to overcome this knee jerk reaction.

That is what I think is partially behind trans* abuse. The person is so different that the difference translates into "not really human" which translates into violence for some people.

We would solve most of the world's problems if difference did not equal "think of as less human."

I need someone to yell at me to do stuff.

Like packing. Packing would be good

hey have a big honking slowly rotating sign by one of the train stations on my ride home. They're on track to get about 2.5% of the vote in my electorate.

Dang, the wikipedia article seems to indicate they aren't doing so badly. Interesting. I feel like they would not do so well in America. Even if we had preferential voting.

I think if I were to have created that site, it would have touted the Australian Sex Lives Of Animals Party.

But what would you stand for, in that party??

I printed it out, so it is readable, but I always think it looks slightly cheesy to bring up a piece of paper rather than a book.

Stick it inside the book, so it looks nice but you can read it?

And I'm wishing it could be 75 degrees all day long.

Move to Seattle! Todays' high is 74, low 59!

and I'm torn between feeling comfortable and feeling really really...ALERT. Keeping an eye out so no one tries to start shit. And it's a little stressful.

I hear you. And much as it's not an experience I would wish on anyone for long-term, there are a number of people that I wish could experience that feeling. And not in a paranoid George-Zimmerman "they're out to get me!" way, but in a "you don't know if that random stranger walking down the block is going to spit on you and say "dyke" and outweigh you by 100 pounds" way.

When we stayed in Edinburgh with my aunt and uncle (in 2002), they mentioned that the room we were staying in was also used (long-term) by a friend of theirs who cross-dressed and needed a safe place to be able to do that and keep stuff.

When I was looking up places to see if I could find ita a place to try on binders, last night (I know of places here or in Baltimore, but NSM in LA), one of the lists I found was for cross-dressing men, it looked like, and mentioned more than one place where you could have a secret mailing address, storage locker, etc. Which made me happy a place existed, but sad it had to.

LEE! GO PACK! PACKING IS GOOD AND GETS YOU NEARER TO NEW ORLEANS!!

Thanks meara! I got my suitcase out of the garage. That's kind of like packing.

Keep on packing, Lee!

I skipped a whole bunch of posts. I am sulking because someone smashed the back window of my car.