Now you can go vote for me, since I made the Top 10. Thanks to all who nominated me!
Brawny Boy
He’s always been Betty’s boy, but sometimes he tolerates me. Just look at that big arm! Fearsome beastie.
FTM Newsletters
If there’s an FTM or an FTM organization out there that would like a bunch of copies of the FTM Newsletter, let me know. The issues I have are #s 38 & 39, 41 & 42, 45 & 46, 48 & 49.
First come, first served.
Stop the Democrats
(I thought that might get your attention!)
20 big Clinton donors tried to bully Nancy Pelosi for saying that superdelegates should let the voters decide who becomes the Democratic nominee. This is the worst kind of insider politics, and it has to stop.
Do we really want to elect people who think their money gets to call the presidency, or the guy who managed to raise more money from small donors than anyone ever has before? Hmm, let’s think about that. A lot of money from few sources, vs. a lot of money from many.
Let’s look up that definition of democracy again, shall we?
Accepting Change
A partner who calls herself Madame George and who regularly posts on our message boards wrote this piece about growing up in a small town and about how similar that can be to watching your husband transition. I thought it was a beautiful piece, wistful, affirming, full of love but also change.
Growing up in a small town has its perks. Small town shop owners know you by name. In fact most times they know your family and your entire life story. That’s how it was growing up here. It’s one of my fondest memories of growing up in a small town. It has changed over the years and many of the shop owners that I knew are now gone. The store fronts now boasting dazzling electronics, plastic knick knacks, and country crafts. Gone is the independent pharmacist, the neighborhood greasy diner, and the ten cents store. Gone are the comforts of the past.
I loved the days when my mother would need something from the neighborhood drug store. There was a small one nearby that was complete with a soda fountain. It’s how I met Mr. Reider. An independent pharmacist whose shop was not far from my school. I knew him well. He knew my entire family well. He had a great store and seemed to always be adding unusual finds into his display cases and racks on a daily basis. It was probably more like a monthly basis, but to my young eyes I seemed to always find new items to wonder over. A favorite of mine was a metal bank depicting a monkey with it’s arms stretched wide. The one where you put a coin in one hand and you gently pulled the other one down and the coin would roll down its arm into a slot hidden ingeniously in the side of its head. Another favorite was the little porcelain nesting dolls with their funny looking painted faces. I remember well his gentle words of warning each time I would pick a set up. Never scolding, just a friendly reminder to be careful. Continue reading “Accepting Change”
The Answer: His Killer
The cover story of this month’s Advocate wants to know who’s to blame for Lawrence King’s murder.
Their insinuation is that those who would have advised Lawrence to be open about his sexuality and gender identity are.
Bruce Parker at Bilerico has posted an open letter to LGBT Ally organizations that will be sent to The Advocate in response to this article.
Cultural Landmarks
While driving from Wisconsin to New York, we passed a couple of things that struck us as fitting the state/area we found them in perfectly:
- In Wisconsin: a Bible store right next to a store that sold barstools
- In the southside of Chicago: We Starch Jeans in a dry cleaners’ window
- Near Sturgis, Indiana: Broasted Chicken, Fireworks, & Discount Tobacco
- & of course, on the way into Brooklyn over the Manhattan Bridge – Brooklyn: Where New York City Starts
But now we’re home again, in our very cluttered apartment, & I’m wondering why on earth I have all the rest of the clothes I left here, since what I had in Wisconsin was enough to get dressed every day for three months.
Get the Chinese to Talk
The Tibetans have been trying to open a dialogue with the Chinese for forever, but with the international pressure now on them because of a potential boycott of the Olympics if they don’t violently crackdown on Tibetans, there’s a new chance to get them to talk.
Subprime
If you want an explanation of the whole subprime mortgage situation check this out.
& Yes we’re back. Back in Brooklyn, land of pizza places and churches.
Transgender Sims
The news about Sims 3 is out:
With 98 million games sold around the world in 22 languages, the transgender appeal of the franchise has made The Sims the third best selling game in history, behind Mario and Pokemon.
I’m pretty sure that they didn’t mean transgender in the way we use it around here, but still it’s pretty damn cool. What they meant is that it’s the only game that has sold MORE to female players than male, but without the usual drop-off of sales to the other gender. That is, many games sell most to male with precious few female players, but The Sims franchise has sold to more women than men, and yet sells to more males than most games sell to females.
Got it? It’s a giant cyber dollhouse, really, but they encourage same-sex attractions and no one’s going to yell at you when you want to make your dolls have sex.