First, on this date in 1895 was born actor Nigel Bruce famed as Dr.  Watson to Basil Rathbone‘s Sherlock Holmes.  But it was on the set of the movie “Limelight” that Bruce and co-start Norman Lloyd got to watch unmatched film history.  As star and director Charlie Chaplin filmed himself in a complicated bit of business, Bruce and Lloyd heard someone whispering “just to your left, Charlie.  Your center frame, Charlie.”

Finally Bruce realized it was another co-star, legendary comic Buster Keaton, whispering guidance to Chaplin.  My god, Bruce mumbled, we‘re watching Keaton direct Chaplin.

A Damfino (that’s what us Keaton fans are called) can not fail to remind you that Chaplin cut most of Buster’s scenes out of Limelight. Fucker.

It was the first game to really break the gender barrier in terms of game sales. They called it a bunch of different things as they worked on it, including Dollhouse, which they knew would be a name that would kill all potential sales to boys; Will Wright started calling it The Tactical Domestic Simulator. Love that.

(But it really is like a dollhouse – but dolls who you build houses for in addition to changing their clothes / making up stories about them.)

I would also like to note that I have never figured out all the way to kill my Sims.

BIGOTRY: FRC Spokesman wants to “outlaw” gay behavior. http://bit.ly/cKIYtA Does FRC really support new Jim Crow laws?

Love that. Even more interesting to me is the tagline of the blog that URL points to, which is:

I believe in the free speech that liberals used to believe in, the economic freedom that conservatives used to believe in, and the personal freedom that America used to believe in.

Which is weird, because this big ol’ liberal is on the same page.

(Thanks, as is often the case, to Sarah.)

Sex with animals had been legal in the Netherlands, as long as it could be proven the animals were not injured.

& How did they know that? Did they ask?

Really, it’s F. Scott Fitzgerald, which makes me wonder how Zelda looked in a suit.

(Thanks to Courtney.)

“There will never be another voice like his.” Which is exactly the lousy kind of goddamn thing that people say, because really it could mean lots of things, or nothing at all even, and it’s just a perfect example of why you should never tell anybody anything.

Goddamn if The Onion didn’t nail it exactly, even if, I”m sure, a million crumby people thought of it with them.

In a long-awaited decision, a fractured (8-5-3) Tax Court today ruled in O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner, 134 T.C. No. 4 (Feb. 2, 2010), that male-to-female gender reassignment surgery qualifies as a deductible medical expense under § 213, reversing the IRS’s position in Chief Counsel Advice 200603025.  The 8-judge majority held that:

• TP’s gender identity disorder is a “disease” within the meaning of  § 213(d)(1)(A) & (9)(B).
• TP’s hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery were for the treatment of disease within the meaning of  § 213(d)(1)(A) & (9)(B), and thus not “cosmetic surgery” excluded from the definition of deductible “medical care” by § 213(d)(9)(A).
• TP’s breast augmentation surgery was directed at improving her appearance did not meaningfully promote the proper function of her body or treat disease within the meaning of § 213(d)(9)(B), and thus was “cosmetic surgery” excluded from the definition of deductible “medical care” by § 213(d)(9)(A).

Judge Gale wrote the 69-page majority opinion, joined by Judges Cohen, Colvin. Marvel, Morrison, Paris, Thornton, and Wherry.  Judge Halperin (12 pages), Judge Holmes (joined by Judge Goeke) (23 pages), and Judge Goeke (joined by Judge Holmes) (6 pages) wrote separate concurring opinions.  Judge Foley (joined by Judges Gustafson, Kroupa, Vasquez, and Wells) (8 pages) and Judge Gustafson (joined by Judges Foley, Kroupa, Vasquez, and Wells) (21 pages) wrote separate opinions concurring in part and dissenting in part.

Amazing news. GLAD is having a community conference call with the attorneys who worked on the case, and NCTE is supporting the call. For more info on how to participate, check after the break.

If you are interested in hearing more about the case from the actual attorneys who worked on it, please join us for the call.

Toll Free Dial-In Number: 1-800-704-9804
Participant Code(s):   61898641#

Wednesday February 3
6:00 PM Eastern Time Zone
5:00 PM Central Time Zone
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3:00 PM Pacific Time Zone

I’m thinking of an alternate, holistic way of how we might deal with genders like these:

1. come up with a term for “girls who grow up to be men”
2. create a coming-of-age ritual, something akin to Quinceañera or Confirmation or Bat Mitzvah, or even some secular version
3. establish bureaucratic protocols for the individuals in question
4. instead of copping a “wow, nature can really fuck up” attitude, try a “what amazing natural variation is possible” instead.
5. stop repeating the bullshit about how they need “complicated sex change surgery to live normal lives”

That is, recognize them as a gender, acknowledge that all paths to adulthood are not the same, that penises are swell but not everything, & let them get on with their lives.