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Drink from the Tap

Pepsi has been forced to admit that their Aquafina water is actually public tap water.

Bottled water is probably the best example of a “healthy” concern gone awry, or What You Think is Good for You Actually Sucks for the Planet (and May or May Not Be Good for You).

  • Each day an estimated 60 million plastic water bottles are thrown away. The plastics they’re made of go on to poison ground water when they’re not recycled (most aren’t).
  • The Pacific Institute has estimated 20 million barrels of oil are used each year to make the plastic for water bottles.
  • For every bottle of water consumed, twice that amount of used was used in the bottling process.

There’s more here.

It’s a hot day in NYC, the fourth in the 90s, so drink from your tap. It’s safe, at least as safe or safer than most bottled water. Get a water filter, instead.

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Cats, Quilting, & Publishing Mysteries

For the aspiring authors out there, an interview with a book contracts insider. Most interesting to me:

While few of us would turn down a big advance if we were lucky enough to get one, but if you’re aiming to be a writer with a lengthy publishing career, starting out small isn’t such a bad thing.

She talks about the value of having an agent, and what to do if you don’t have one when you’re signing.

This optimistic bit is surely good for plenty of as-yet-unpublished authors to hear:

It occurred to me then that if there’s a market for books on cats that quilt while solving crime, there must be room out in the world for my story.

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Walk a Mile in These Shoes

The New York State Senate leadership – including Senator Joe Bruno – continues its tradition of blocking the advancement of gay rights by preventing the marriage equality bill from making it to the Senate floor for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote.

So NOW-NYC is asking us to send him a message: send him your old shoes with a note asking him to allow the marriage bill to be heard in the Senate.

Mail them to: Senator Joseph L. Bruno Room 909, Legislative Office Building, Albany NY 12247.

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Bathrooms in Arizona, Letters to The Advocate

Michele DeLaFreniere, a trans woman in Arizona, is suing a bar that kept her from entering.

The bar’s owner objects to having been quoted as saying he doesn’t want “her kind” in the place, but does admit that he’s blocked trans women from coming to the bar because of the bathroom issue: trans women were being harassed in the men’s room, and female bar patrons didn’t want the trans women in the women’s restroom.

As the story was reported in The Advocate, Anderson told the AP, “There was no place I could put these people.”

Two letters to the editor about the issue weigh in on the side of keeping women’s restrooms free of trans women, one calling them “men” and the other calling them “‘women’.”

Yet another “women’s space” issue, but I’m not sure the best answer is simply to insist that trans women use the ladies’ rooms. Education, unisex bathrooms, – surely there are more intermediate ways of handling this instead of just telling women – who may be ignorant but also fearful, for good reason, of sharing bathroom space with people they view as male. Convincing women raised female that trans women are not male requires a hell of a lot of education, which will take time, so what do we do in the meanwhile?

(My thanks to Joanne Herman for the heads-up.)

(Xposted to Trans Group Blog.)

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Her Highness

She’s still not really hip to being sniffed by the boys, so they tend to kind of sneak sniffs when she dosn’t seem to be paying attention. Endymion’s doing the sniffing this time around; we’re halfway convinced he’s in love with her, and recently she’s even allowed him to lick her head. She is the definition of princess, and fierce to boot.

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Trans Couples Conference?

So if I were to host a trans couples/trans partners weekend retreat, would you come? What if it were in Philly?

If you’re interested, let me know by leaving a comment or posting in our thread about it or emailing me. Let me know what you’d like the conference to be like by describing a day at it.

I’m very much in the planning/idea stages, so input is welcome.

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GIP August Events

There’s two events coming organized by the Center that I wanted to let people know about.

The first one is Trans on the Sands, on August 12th, from 11am – 5pm: a day at the beach for transgender, gender non-confirming, genderqueer people, their families and allies, at Coney Island. Meet directly across from the boardwalk entrance to the New York Aquarium under a ‘GIP’ sign.

The second is a Femme Symposium, on August 18th, from 11am – 5PM: an opportunity for self-identified femmes in the New York City metropolitan area to socialize and connect with other femmes. It provides femmes and our allies with space to discuss issues and topics of relevance and is intended to increase the visibility of femmes. All who attend are entitled to explore their own definition of femme throughout the day. While this event is for, about and by femmes, allies are welcome. There is a $10 entrance fee to cover costs, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. For further information: nycfemmesymposium@gmail.com.

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Triangle Trans

I’ll be speaking at the fledgling Triangle Transgender Society in Norwalk, CT, on August 7th. You don’t have to be a member to attend. I’ll start speaking around 7Pm, & I’ll finish when no one has any more questions.

Do come if you’re in that neck of the woods (or can get there).

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Gogol Bordello, Wanderlust Kings

They didn’t disappoint, though that was nearly a low energy performance for them. They’ve been described as gypsy punk but I think of them more as the slavic Pogues – the insane, charismatic lead singer, huge folk influences, a gigantic punk attitude. I love them. The only time I got to see them – at Irving Plaza – I wanted to get drunk and break things, and I couldn’t decide if that was the drunken polka/gypsy thing, or the punk rock thing, or just the sheer energy & chaos of the band. If you get a chance to go see them live, and you can stand a loud, rowdy show, do go. Not for everyone, but if you’ve been feeling like most music is too crap commerical or just completely ballless, they’re the band for you.

& Yes, I’m proud to say that they’re a New York band; at least, they met & got their start here. The lead singer is from the Ukraine, there’s a couple of Russians in the band, the violist is from Israel, & they all met (legend or not) on Avenue B. They’re like the last genuine East Village/Loisaida export before gentrification wimped everything out.