The new season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent starts tonight! Tonight! On USA! & On Thursdays! The nights I’m home & have a TV! Oh, I’m pathetic. But I love Goren & Eames.
Tim Hardaway
I wish they’d reported what his answer was.
Donna Rose Resigns from HRC
A Statement from Donna Rose, Community Activist on the Human Rights Campaign’s Position on ENDA:
“An impressive coalition of local and national organizations has lined up to actively oppose the divisive strategy on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that would leave our transgender brothers and sisters without workplace protections. This effort has galvanized community spirit and commitment in ways few could have imagined, and it has demonstrated to those who would divide us that anything less than full inclusion is unacceptable.
Unfortunately, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) – a group of which I am the first and only transgender board member – is not part of this group. Their recently issued statement indicates while it is not preferable, they will not actively oppose a version of ENDA which is not fully inclusive.
Because of this unacceptable position feel compelled to resign my position on HRC’s Board of Directors.â€
When Worlds Collide
I’m at an Au Bon Pain in Boston’s South Station the other day trying to buy a cup of soup while I waited for my next train. They have clam chowder on the list of soups, so I ask,
“What kind of clam chowder is it?”
Blank stare.
“Is it white or red?”
“Do you want clam chowder?”
“What color is it?”
Blank stare, eyeroll.
The clerk next to her overhears it & asks me,
“You’re from New York?”
I nod.
He says to my clerk,
“You need to get out of Boston once in a while. In New York they have red clam chowder too.”
I had no idea that when you’re in New England, all the clam chowder is New England clam chowder. I mean, if they serve both New England clam chowder and Manhattan clam chowder in Manhattan…
Crossdressing: Erotic Stories Reading
Two months from today, there’s be an event based on Rachel Kramer Bussel’s Crossdressing: Erotic Stories book, which Veronica Vera wrote the forward to & which includes a story by me. I’ll be reading, as will Miss Vera, amongst others.
- Where: LGBT Center, West 13th Street, www.gaycenter.org
- When: Thursday, November 29th, 7PM
Do come! It should be a fun night!
Carnival of Bent Attractions
This month, I get the pleasure of hosting the ongoing Carnival of Bent Attractions, and there’s a nice sampling of interesting LGBT Bentness to be had:
First, an interview with no other than sex-positive educator Susie Bright from the financially-minded set at Queercents, where we find out Ms. Bright worked in a cathouse but wasn’t getting paid for sex amonst other things;
Then, a review of a Thursday night Transvestite party in Buenos Aires, written by Oliver Hartman and posted on the Argentina’s Travel Blog site. Mr. Hartman didn’t know what to expect, and didn’t seem to know what was what (or who was whom):
I’m not entirely sure when the show ended, but there was some sort of conga line and crazy swan costume involved.
I wonder if it wasn’t a chicken.
Further still, a commentary on Craig’s wide stance on The Agonist, which tries to understand the likes of Craig and how they can claim not to be gay:
Perhaps it’s because many or most of them, like Craig, genuinely think they aren’t gay, despite enjoying gay sex?
& Finally, to wrap things up, SF Brawny Bear answers the question, “What does Bear Pride Mean to You?” on the blog Bear Bones. (But who does Bear bone, exactly?)
Nice roundup. Next month, our various Bent Attractions move on to a new ride at the Carnival.
National Coming Out Day
National Coming Out Day is October 11th – so who are you coming out to this year?
October
How the hell did it get to be October already? Is this year speeding by for everyone else, or am I just way too busy?
CO Events
Finally, I have all the details on the stuff we’ll be doing in Colorado!
On October 9th, I’ll be speaking at the Metropolitan State College of Denver.
Where: MSCD Campus, Denver
When: Tuesday, October 9th, 1-3PM
then, in Boulder:
We’ll be part of the TRANSforming Gender 2007 Conference at the University of Colorado @ Boulder. More details about other speakers – including Matt Kailey (author of Just Add Hormones) & Julia Serano (author of Whipping Girl) – can be found on the conference’s website.
Where: Dennis Small Cultural Center, University Memorial Center Rm 457
When: Wednesday, October 10th
I’ll be doing a workshop on Queer Heterosexuals/Emerging Identities from 3:30-4:45
and then will be part of a panel with the other speakers from 5:15-6:30.
Both/all these events are open to the general public, so do come if you can.
Check In
i’ve had some time to be on the boards this weekend, despite the insanity around what’s going on in Burma & with ENDA – both of which occupied a lot of my time – and it’s nice to get a visit in.
teaching has kept me really busy, as has the commute. it’s really a full day that goes to travel: i leave here 1pm for my 2pm train, & i don’t get to Andover until about 8 PM. it’s a little shorter on the return, on Thursday, mostly because the train schedules work a little better.
& yes, as many people have predicted: i love teaching. love it. i asked on the first day if (1) any of them had ever thought about their gender, and (2) if any of them identified as feminists, and got no hands on either. that, plus the class being at 8am, were tall odds, i thought. but aside from the fact that i have to be prepared to frontload the class for the first half-hour while they’re all waking up, we’ve had interesting conversations about whether feminism is valid & what radfems mean when they say all sex is rape & about why most professional cooks are male.
september has gone by really quickly as a result, what with teaching & DO for a week & getting the details for the upcoming trip to CO & applying for a NYFA grant. i feel like i wake up & work on my to-do list & at some point i get on a train & find myself on a green, catholic college campus for a few days, kind of like it’s a dream, & then i’m home again & hanging out with betty & the kittoi until i get on a train again.
but i do enjoy the train time, even if i sometimes dread it the night before. i read a lot. i write some. i grade papers, even. or i just watch the world go by.