text:
Dadaab: the world's largest refugee camp
The worlds largest refugee camp
Despite protections built into international refugee and human rights law against restricting the freedom of movement of refugees, and studies that show that self-settled refugees are better off and contribute to the economies of their host countries, the camps at Dadaab contain half a million refugees from Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, and elsewhere in East Africa.
The United Nations High Comissioner for Refugees, in tandem with a host of other international and domestic NGOs, is responsible for the oversight and maintenance of more than 450,000 refugees in Dadaab, spread across three camps which have a combined capacity to host a total of 90,000 refugees: Dagahaley, Ifo, and Hagadera. The refugees, primarily Somali, have been arriving for more than 20 years.
From Above
Dadaab is 75 kilometers from the Somalia border crossing at Liboi, in Kenya's semi-arid North Eastern province. The region has traditionally been the home of nomadic populations of goat and camel herders who, prior to the implementation of borders, wandered freely between what eventually became Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia. This tradition has given rise to a substantive population of Kenyan Somalis who have faced significant discrimination within Kenya. The North Eastern province has seen the worst of this xenophobia. In the 1980s, under President Daniel Arap Moi, the Kenyan government used 'emergency laws' to override constitutional protections and justify the detention and torture of a huge number of Kenyan Somalis in the province. The Wagalla Massacre of 1984 saw Kenyan military officers round up 'ethnic Somalis' by the hundreds or thousands (estimates vary) on the Wagalla airstrip and hold them for five days before executing them - perhaps Kenya's worst human rights atrocity in history. In 1989, the government used a policy based in identity documentation to round-up and expel hundreds of Kenyan Somalis, stripping them of their citizenship and forcing them across the Somali and Ethiopian borders. Many who evaded the round-ups fell victim to a police 'shoot to kill' policy, ostensibly instituted to combat wildlife poaching, that ultimately lead to many deaths. The 2011 Kenyan invasion of Somalia - in response to a spate of kidnappings and bombings - has only served to increase suspicion of Kenyan Somalis in the country, leading many to fear a renewed backlash.
The road to Garissa
International humanitarian workers stationed in Dadaab are advised not to travel the Garissa road - the only thoroughfare back to Nairobi - due to the threat of attacks and kidnappings by bandits or members of al Shabaab, the fundamentalist, al Qaida-linked Somali resistance organization suspected of being behind bombings and kidnappings in Kenya. The road is the primary supply route to the camps, and humanitarian workers who do travel it are told to 'drive fast'.
(Upward?) mobility
Without viable goods distribution services, refugees held in Dadaab rely on wheelbarrows to transport food, water, and other basic needs deep into the camps. The wheelbarrows provide one of the only 'stable' sources of income for those that are able to secure them, who then rent their services to other refugees.
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
The tiny percentage of Dadaab refugees who receive the opportunity to resettle in another country depart from Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Some receive a brief cultural orientation training before departure, learning basic skills that are completely foreign to the refugee camp experience - such as how to unfasten an airline seat belt and how to turn on a stove. In the interest of scale, consider that of the more than 450,000 refugees in Dadaab, only a very few thousand at best are resettled by the United States every year - the world's largest and most generous resettlement country in its most ambitious resettlement operation in Africa. At that rate, and without a change in circumstances, the vast majority of refugees held in the Dadaab camps will die there.
The Dadaab refugee camps drive nearly all local business, creating a vast market for the small population of Kenyans who live in Dadaab town. In the UNHCR compound however, refugees themselves are marketable. This barbershop and crafts store is advertised as providing refugee handicrafts and is one of two of its kind in the compound - the other attached to the UNHCR staff cafeteria. Kenyans from Dadaab are rarely substantively employed in the compound, as contracts tend to go to Nairobi-based bidders, who then transit their own staff out to the compound.
Superb Starling
Leaks in the Dadaab compound's two massive steel water tanks provide a steady water supply for an outcropping of trees that has flourished below. The Superb Starling is one of a number of birds that have taken advantage of the water and greenery, waiting until the evening lights come on to feast on the moths they attract. Superb Starlings range from South Sudan to Tanzania and are monogamous, but collectively raise their young - helping each other build nests and collect food for their babies.
Only 'three' camps in Dadaab
The three primary Dadaab refugee camps - Hagadera, Ifo, and Dagahaley - have been conceived and built over the past 20 years. Their combined capacity is 90,000 people. More than 450,000 refugees now live in the Dadaab camps. The Kenyan government has been hesitant to receive the potential political backlash of facilitating the expansion of the refugee presence in Kenya or building new camps, however. Recently it has succumbed to external and internal pressure to provide more land for the refugees - who continue to arrive at a rate of hundreds every day - by allowing the existing camps to be 'expanded'. This solution has involved building new camps, but naming them as extensions of the existing camps, thereby retaining the political rhetoric that there are 'only three' camps in Dadaab.
The landrover is the standard vehicle of the humanitarian relief effort in Dadaab. Landrovers travel in convoy and are escorted by armed police when travelling through the camps. The convoys have been subject to recent attacks by improvised explosives and landmines in Hagadera and Ifo camps. Earlier this year a CARE landrover was taken and its driver kidnapped. The landrover has since been recognized as being driven by a high-ranking member of al Shabaab in the port town of Kismayo, Somalia. In October a landrover belonging to Medecins sans Frontieres was taken after its driver was shot during the kidnapping of two Spanish aid workers. The vehicle was abandoned along the road to Somalia after being pursued by Kenyan military helicopters.
Communication between humanitarian staff is primarily facilitated by hand-held radios, which are strictly controlled and used under particular rules of contact and language. When two Spanish aid workers were kidnapped by suspected al Shabaab militants in Dadaab in October 2011, the hand-held radios became the primary tool for updates and warnings. Refugees in the camp have no regular communication, and often rely on the mobile telephones of neighbors or friends.
Hibiscus Mall
The Hibiscus Mall is a small shop bordering the UNHCR cafeteria in the Dadaab compound. The 'mall' stocks crackers, sodas, milk, and cookies and is operated by a refugee. Despite the fact that refugees recognized under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees are afforded the right to work under the same conditions as citizens - further affirmed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - UNHCR offers an 'incentive' policy for refugees it allows to work in various refugee camps around the world. The policy justifies paying refugees a small fraction of local salary rates and national minimum wage because refugees ostensibly have fewer expenses then regular citizens. This practice has been challenged for violating international labor and human rights law, and its underlying assumptions have been challenged by refugee academics.
Freedom of movement is restricted for refugees in Kenya and in the Dadaab camps, who are not permitted to travel outside of the Dadaab complex. Movement is similarly restricted for international NGOs, who are required to remain within the UNHCR administered Dadaab staff compound and are subject to strict curfews and travel regulations, including armed convoys when traveling through the camps. The hundreds of birds that live on the site are permitted to move freely.
Light as a feather
Weighing an average of 9 kgs and having a wingspan of nearly three meters, Marabou Storks require a good amount of power to lift themselves from the ground and climb to an altitude at which they can easily glide over the camps, scavenging for carcasses and trash dumps. The amount of air displaced when a Marabou Stork lifts off is so significant that the action is easily audible from great distances.
Goat is the most readily available local meat, as beef, chicken, fish, and any number of other commodities must be flown or trucked in to Dadaab from Garissa or beyond. After years of food distribution through the World Food Program (WFP), local food markets have found no substantive footing and staff from the Dadaab UNHCR compound must drive to Garissa, an hour or more each way, to get staples that are not flown in by charter flight every other day.
Despite an effort to change its name by the restaurant's new management, Pumzika is the UNHCR compound's most well known social hub, offering a standard plate meal (usually goat and beans) and cheap beer and wine to humanitarian staff during their stay in Dadaab. Pumzika staff work a solid three-months before being granted four days off, much of which is spent transiting the 8 hour drive to Nairobi to visit family. The restaurant staff share a single tent, sleeping in shifts or on the floor between beds when all staff are present.
With a measured wingspan of 12 feet, the Maribou Stork has been ranked as having the largest wingspan of any living bird in the world - although the claim is not unanimously agreed. Maribou Storks primarily feed on carrion and have acclimatized well to the trash piles and waste dumps around the Dadaab compound.
CARE International
CARE International is one of UNHCR's primary operational partners in Dadaab, assisting with camp management and a number of other activities. In September of 2011 a CARE staff member was kidnapped and a CARE vehicle was carjacked while in the Dadaab camps. The staff member remains missing, but the car has been located in the port city of Kismayo, Somalia, where it is reportedly being driven by a high ranking member of al Shabaab.
Kenyan Military
A Kenyan military helicopter flies over the Dadaab camps in pursuit of al Shabaab rebels accused of kidnapping two Spanish Medecins Sans Frontieres workers and the shooting of their driver less than an hour earlier. The vehicle they were traveling in was found abandoned on the road to Somalia, and despite gunfire and a considerable pursuit effort by the Kenyan military, the women were not retrieved and are currently believed to be being held in Somalia for ransom. Medecins Sans Frontiers employs a steadfast dedication to total accessibility and refuses to 'militarize' its operations or travel in armed convoy.
Supply route
The airstrip at Dadaab is an understated and unlit strip of black tarmac loosely bordered by chain link fencing. In the circumstance of nighttime emergencies, such as spitting cobra attacks, the runway is lined by UNHCR compound landrovers that use their headlights to light the strip so that evacuation planes can land.
Before any refugees that are granted the opportunity to resettle abroad are cleared to travel, they are required to undergo medical check ups at the IOM-run medical clinic. Only the most 'vulnerable' refugees in the camp are offered resettlement interviews, and many are in need of medical treatment that is beyond the capabilities of the refugee camp hospitals.
After the kidnapping of two Spanish Medecins Sans Frontieres staff, all non-lifesaving travel outside of the UNHCR Dadaab complex was stopped indefinitely. Only those staff and vehicles required to maintain hospital functions continued to travel outside of the compound, and only under strict curfew.
Camps within camps
Continued fighting in Somalia and a severe drought throughout the Horn of Africa have lead to a continued refugee influx, despite Kenya closing its borders in 2006. As a result, tents have been set up throughout the Dadaab compound to house journalists, humanitarian workers, visitors, and maintenance staff.
Days without number, nights without end.
Sunsets in Dadaab are long and lingering, and in the absence of regular work routines or effective signifiers of the passage of time, many refugees in the camp have no idea how long they have been there. Most Somalis estimate (or have been told by the UNHCR) that they - or some generation before them - arrived in 1991, when Hawiye rebels loyal to General Aideed overthrew the Darod government of Siad Barre. The war so dramatically divided Somalis along ethnic lines that simply being assumed as affiliated with one or the other tribe could mean death.
The conditions in Dadaab - like in many refugee camps - are harsh and unforgiving as governments allocate their least desirable land to housing refugees. There is little, if any, soil capable of supporting regular agriculture, and deforestation is happening at an alarming rate as refugees and residents of Dadaab town use local firewood as fuel.
The vast majority of Dadaab's refugee inhabitants are Somali, who have often fled on foot through the wilderness to the Kenyan outpost border town of Liboi - known to the Somalis as 'Bartadere', meaning 'the long pole', due to a communications tower that marks the spot. In October 2011 refugees were arriving at Dadaab - a 90,000 capacity complex of camps currently hosting over 450,000 people - at a rate of about 400 a day.


text: The Pre-Raphaelite movement began in 1848, when three young British art students -- Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, and John Everett Millais -- banded together with other like-minded artists to revolutionize British art. Rebelling against the artistic traditions of the Royal Academy, they preferred the simplicity and monastic principles of late medieval art preceding the Renaissance master, Raphael. The Pre-Raphaelite collection of the Delaware Art Museum is the most significant outside Great Britain. Included in this exhibition are a large group of oils and watercolors by Rossetti, as well as works by Edward Burne-Jones, Fredrick Sandys, Ford Madox Brown, Hunt, Millais, and others. Complementing this array of two-dimensional works are decorative arts that embody the genesis of the Arts and Crafts movement, including two chairs designed by William Morris and Rossetti, jewelry, ceramics, and metalwork.Itinerary:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
After decades steeped in mystery and myth, absinthe is forbidden no more, and people are lining up to see for themselves what the green fairy is all about.
They called it the green fairy, and they said it could drive you to peaks of manic creativity — that is, if it didn't first drive you mad. Countries banned it. Teetotalers reviled it. Meanwhile, aficionados built an entire black market around it.
But after decades steeped in mystery and myth, absinthe is forbidden no more, and people are lining up to see for themselves what the green fairy is all about.
It took a legion of lawyers and four years of legal wrangling with U.S. regulators to get it back into the country legally. Since the ban was lifted last year, a handful of companies have been vying to cash in on what they hope will be a new generation of absinthe lovers.
To that end, a small army of Maryland's tastemakers and liquor industry heavyweights assembled recently at a Baltimore restaurant, Ixia, for a taste of the notorious drink — an invitation-only affair organized by one of the three major brands now approved for U.S. distribution.
"After the first glass you see things as you wish they were."
— Oscar Wilde
But absinthe is more than what comes out of the bottle. An entire ritual surrounds its consumption. At Ixia, as in centuries past, about an ounce of absinthe was poured into a glass. The liquid, a Swiss brand called Kubler, looked as clear as water. An absinthe spoon, with intricately carved holes, was balanced over the glass, and a cube of sugar was placed on the spoon. Then, icy water was poured over the sugar, which melted into the liquid below.
The liquid, once clear, turned more milky with each drop of water, a process known as the louche, which in French means "shady."
"It's like a jolt of black licorice," Reagan Warfield, 27, a Baltimore DJ, said after his first taste.
Then he took another sip. "I mean it's fine, but where are the hallucinations? I haven't seen anything except the fairy models floating around."
The fairy models — in short skirts, green body paint and pink wings — flitted about without tasting the absinthe.
"We're not supposed to drink anything, so I don't know what it does to you," said Shannon Semesky, 23, of Baltimore. "We're on the job, you know."
"After the second you see things as they are not."
— Oscar Wilde
But if there are no hallucinations, why was absinthe banned in the first place? At the end of the 19th century, it was the drink of choice, wildly popular among artists in Europe. Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh created paintings in which the drink figured prominently. Ernest Hemingway created his own concoction, mixing the green liquid with cold champagne to make what he called "Death in the Afternoon."
Some think absinthe's very popularity led to its downfall. After the roots of grapevines in France were badly damaged by small insects in the late 19th century, absinthe surged in popularity, which might have made the wine industry uneasy.
"That's when they began a smear campaign, and they needed a reason, which is how the rumors started," said T.A. Breaux, an environmental chemist who spent 14 years analyzing absinthe bottled before the ban.
"They said people were drinking so much that they became" crazy, said Franck Choisne, owner of the Combier distillery in France, which has produced liqueurs since it was established in 1834. "But it was not due to the absinthe itself — non — they simply drank too much."
Absinthe, it was said, could cause hallucinations, epilepsy and madness. It was thought to have caused Van Goghto cut off his ear. Then came the trial of a Swiss man accused of killing his family on the day he had two absinthes and other alcoholic drinks. Soon after, the drink was banned in Switzerland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Brazil and, in 1912, the United States.
At the time, scientists said the problem was a toxin called thujone, which comes from wormwood, the bitter herb used in making absinthe. Studies have shown that in large doses thujone, also found in sage and cedar leaf, can cause convulsions or kidney failure.
Modern experts, however, say early absinthe contained so little thujone that a man would die from alcohol poisoning long before being hurt by the toxin. U.S. regulations today allow no more than 10 parts per million of the chemical in absinthe.
"Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world."
— Oscar Wilde
With the scientific data in hand, distillers in Europe began working to lift the ban. But efforts in the United States went nowhere. "This was one of the holy grails in liquor laws," said Robert Lehrman, a Washington lawyer who spent four years trying to lift the absinthe restrictions.
In February 2007, he made a final push, gathering distillers from Switzerland, a liquor importer from Texas and representatives from the Swiss Embassy for a meeting with officials of the U.S. Tax and Trade Bureau.
Among his arguments was that people were already selling absinthe throughout the country, albeit illegally, largely online. To make his point, he had with him a bottle of absinthe obtained through such illicit channels.
"It was a Hail Mary pass," he said, "but it worked."
Kubler, the Swiss distiller that sponsored the Baltimore tasting, hopes to parlay the almost cultish curiosity about absinthe into a place in the mainstream liquor market. After receiving label approval in Maryland, it has secured 500 accounts among bars, restaurants and liquor stores. Kubler has won approval in the District of Columbia and Virginia and expects to launch sales there in the next two months.
But after decades in which the legendary drink was confined to the dark shadows, some observers are unsure how it will play to the public.
"It's always been a victim and beneficiary of that bad boy image," Lehrman said. "People think it's amazing because of what has been said about it for so long, but that comes with its own burden as well."


text:
Birds are chirping and singing, so that must mean they are enjoying the summer weather. Make these simple DIY birdseed feeders for your feathered friends…and keep them chirping!!
I love watching birds nibble on bird food, but mostly I just love to watch them flutter. You could say I'm a novice birdie (bird watcher). There are a variety of bird feeders around my house that the birds just love. I get to see all types of beautiful birds by having these feeders available to them. I came across a birdseed feeder on a friend's blog and just had to make a few of my own. They are so simple to make.
These birdseed feeders are so easy and inexpensive to make, you'll want to make them over and over again. These ingredients I used are probably already in your kitchen….other than the birdseed. I keep mine on the front porch in a large tin can with a lid.
Simple DIY Birdseed Feeders
Ingredients and Supplies:
- 2 cups birdseed
- 1 tbs bread or cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tbs peanut butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbs corn syrup or honey
- 1 tbs cornstarch
- jute for hanging
- fiber for birds to make a nest with (I used fiber from an old wool scarf)
- assorted shapes and sizes cookie cutters
- wax paper
- scissors, bowl, etc.
I was able to get 6 assorted size feeders from the mixture.
Start out by mixing all ingredients together. Lay out a piece of wax paper on the counter and sprinkle a little flour on it. Take your cookie cutters and place on paper. With your fingers slightly floured start stuffing each cutter with birdseed mixture all the way to the rim of the cutter. Let stand a few hours to dry and harden.
Once dried, gently push birdseed down and out of cutter onto wax paper. Let sit for a few minutes or so before tying them up. Take a piece of fiber and jute and tie up the feeder. Be really gentle when tying the knots at the top base of the feeder. Hang outside on tree limb and enjoy bird watching.
If any crumble just throw to the birds. They'll love it any way they can get it!!
How to Re-Prioritize Your Life


text:
I am a almost full time MTF (male to female) non-op transsexual or something.... (all subject to change.)
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Carol Of The Bells - Ben & Eden Collaboration
Eden on guitar is the son of my friend Linda who lives in Phoenix, AZ. She is the one I visited in the spring of this year. The piano player I read is just 10 years old. Wow! Great job guys.
Monday, December 17, 2007
We Belong - a high school movie project story by Joe Wilson
Namoli Brenette sang her song We Belong as the title song of this movie. So cool!
A film by Joe Wilson. We Belong
This is the story of two rural teens who had the courage to stand up to bigotry and intolerance in their schools – and the determination to tell their stories to the world.Edit 12/12/2013: The video is gone from Current TV's website. Much of this video was incorporated into movie OUT in the SILENCE.
Homophobia is one of the last "permissible" forms of prejudice. Its effects are especially acute for youth, who often suffer alone and in silence. Two thirds of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth experience harassment or violence in school, and the suicide rate for this group is four times the average.
When C.J. Bills is gay bashed in the school locker room, then arrested for disorderly conduct because he protests to an administrator about the harassment he has experienced, he decides to fight back by making a documentary about discrimination. With his family's help, he also initiates an investigation by the state human rights commission and shames the school district into developing an anti-bullying and diversity training program.
C.J.'s documentary project also leads him to Tim Dahle, a former high school student who challenged the years of anti-gay harassment he suffered in a neighboring town. In Tim's case, the school district that failed to protect him agreed to one of the largest sexual harassment settlements in history, sending a signal to school districts around the country that such behavior can be costly.
We Belong demonstrates that young people have the power to change their communities and the world, and that helping youth to tell their stories, in their own way and on camera, is enlightening, empowering, and effective.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Transgender Day Of Remembrance
Thanks Marti Abernathey of Transadvocate.com. She has found a great bunch of YouTube videos and posted them at Transgender YouTube Diversity on her site.
Friday, December 07, 2007
I Feel Like a Woman - performed by Michael Mullen
An amazing performance.
ET Transgender Summit Series
Donna must have captured this. Good for you, Donna. I missed it when it was on TV.
Monday, December 03, 2007
I say you are there, Stassa!
I stumbled on a post with this picture, and I left this comment:
That picture says you will make it. I don't see a guy there at all.
I know it is hard to trust your eyes, and the good words of friends. I know what I don't say to my less then passable friends, just to not hurt their feelings. So sometimes, I can not even be trusted to say what I mean, but I don't know you. I could have just passed by and said nothing.
If that picture is really representative of how you look, and not just the best one of many taken that day, you will make it. Yes, I used to have to snap hundreds with my webcam or holding my camera at arms length, just to get one with a smile that did not look awkward. Now I only have to take a few. LOL Anyway it is always good to take lots and sort out the best for sharing, but it is easier now.
There is nothing in that picture that says "guy in a dress." I say you are there. You made it. I am happy for you, and that gives me hope!
Her blog is Ye Goblyn Queenne (Good? Bad? I'm the chick with the gun. Well, I say gun...)
TG 101 at (en)Gender
Thanks Helen!
TG 101Posted in media, trans on December 3rd, 2007
The Gender Identity Project (GIP) Center here in NYC has created a 20-minute film called Transgender Basics. It's not necessarily thorough - it's only 20 minutes! - but it does cover what it needs to for an introduction to the idea. You can view it on the Center's website.
I like this chart that was in the film.
Shawn the FTM in Chattanooga tells his story!
I am taking this down until it is cleared up.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Who said transgender people don't have choices?
I found a list of 81 choices for transgender people. I do a couple of these, with some but not complete success. I do 32, 42, 67, 78 and 81.
32) I can develop a close relationship with my personal computer and never spend much time outside of my house. I can stay at home and stay where I am.
42) I can get involved in a gender oriented self-help group and see what others with issues similar to mine are like. I can learn how they've handled these things.
67) I need to find more things to read, more books, web sites and articles on gender dysphoria. I need to learn more about this topic.
78) I can educate others about transgender issues and, hopefully, help generate a measure of acceptance and tolerance.
81) Although at times my gender problems seem immense I know things could be much worse. It's possible to find solutions that will work for me, but it won't happen unless I work on it. This may mean I need to talk with important people in my life about who I am, define my issues, and experiment with solutions to my problems.
I used to do 43 but the hormones made that impossible. :-)
43) I don't need a relationship with anyone. I'll live alone and cross dress and masturbate until I go blind. Then I'll go on disability and cross dress and masturbate some more.
What do you guys and gals do?Hugs,
Here is a partial list of ways of coping with gender discomfort, various beliefs concerning what might resolve gender identity and role conflict, and some alternatives to genital reconstruction surgery gleaned from my experience with clients working on gender issues. Some of these alternatives may work for you. Some may be more appropriate for you than others and some may work by combining them. And still others may not be appropriate at all. It's even possible that some alternatives may work in combination with surgery. Some may even seem stupid or silly. A number of the alternatives may be considered way-stations in a person's journey to a place of comfort. Expect to have strong emotional reactions to some of these possibilities.
What's important to remember is that you have a variety of choices. Be aware, some of the options you foresee no one else has envisioned. You may have found unique ways of dealing with your gender issues. Discuss your feelings and views with your therapist.
I'll present more alternatives (... how many are there?) for dealing with gender identity and role conflict in future editions of my web site.
2) I can work in the gender role I was first socialized in and live my preferred gender role at other times.
3) I can be a cross dresser and view it as a hobby similar to some people who are into golf, model railroads, gardening, etc.
4) I can develop an androgynous life style that will work for me, a gender role that is a personal mix of masculine and feminine characteristics. I can give myself an androgynous first name.
5) I want to postpone this a bit. I'll start working on this gender issue tomorrow ... or maybe this weekend.
6) I can be a volunteer worker or get a part time job in my preferred gender role to test what it's like to work as a man or woman. I can build experience for the future. Maybe this will help me decide how I want to live my life.
7) My religious beliefs will help me deal with my gender issues.
8) I can learn to adjust to life as a cross dresser. Maybe I can find a woman or man who can handle this, perhaps even enjoy it, someone I can live with or marry.
9) I can take hormones forever, but not change my gender role or have surgery.
10) I can take hormones, change my gender role, but not have surgery.
11) I can change my gender role, but not take hormones or have surgery.
12) I can have sex reassignment surgery so I'll have a vagina. Then I'll be able to have sex with men, but I'll continue to live and work in my masculine gender role.
13) I can live with another gender dysphoric person and explore my attraction to TG persons. Maybe we can work things out together.
14) I can get married to a straight woman (or man) and let that take care of the problem.
15) I can get married and have children ... then I'll have to be a mother (or father) and I won't have time for gender conflict.
16) I can get divorced. That will put an end to marital conflict over my gender issues. I'll settle down then.
17) I can get used to almost anything, even an emotional straitjacket. I need to work on this a little harder.
18) I can announce to anyone who needs or wants to know that I'm a cross dresser. Let others make of it what they want. I can then live my life openly and freely as I desire. I can partake of the masculine or feminine gender roles whenever and wherever I choose.
19) I can get high on drugs or alcohol as much as possible to escape my problems.
20) I can work all the time, 25 or more hours a day, so I won't have time to think about this issue.
21) I can get out of the San Francisco Bay Area so I won't be around all these people like myself.
22) I can move to the San Francisco Bay Area so I can be around more people like myself.
23) Everything changes. This gender conflict won't last forever. I will eventually get over it.
24) I can get a job with a lot of public visibility, so changing sex won't be an option.
25) If I changed sex, I'd be really weird, a freak ... a super social reject. I won't do it because I'd end up worse off than I am now.
26) I can get involved in some kind of service delivery to the TG population. Maybe I'll do something like research or counseling with gender people. That should be enough. I won't need to go any further than that.
27) If I change my sex it will ruin the way my parents, spouse, children, and other important people in my life feel about me. They'll go crazy with grief, anger, etc. So, I'll stay the way I am. For them.
28) I can run around in circles looking for a new solution to my problem and not find anything new or anyone to ask for help. I can stay where I am and not change or grow.
29) I can find a therapist to help me go straight and turn me into "a normal person."
30) I can take testosterone and live in the masculine gender role even though I was born a female. I'll have a mastectomy, but I won't have genital surgery. I know I can have a satisfactory or better sex life with my lover or wife.
31) Changing sex will take too much work, time, and money. I can find some other solution to this problem.
32) I can develop a close relationship with my personal computer and never spend much time outside of my house. I can stay at home and stay where I am.
33) I recognize what the problem is. I know what I want. Sex change is what I need. Don't talk to me about alternatives or try to slow me down. Full speed ahead.
34) I can hang around with people who abuse me ... or perhaps find new and creative ways to abuse myself. I can be hostile, angry, and critical toward my self. I can develop skills at negative self-talk.
35) I will always be ambivalent about my gender role. It's part of who I am. I need help learning to accept that ambivalence.
36) I can be a "she-male" and find a man or a woman who wants a relationship with someone who looks and behaves like a woman, but has male genitals.
37) I can envy certain men (or women) and wish again and again I was as fortunate. God, what a pitiful case I am.
38) I can learn to be satisfied with dressing-up on Halloween and maybe New Year's Eve, too.
39) I can be a prostitute, work the streets and hotels, and make money from people who want me to turn them on sexually.
40) The medical risks are too great. Hormones and / or surgery would probably kill me.
41) I'm a carpenter (or a ...). I could never see myself working in my preferred gender role in my occupation. I could never support myself.
42) I can get involved in a gender oriented self-help group and see what others with issues similar to mine are like. I can learn how they've handled these things.
43) I don't need a relationship with anyone. I'll live alone and cross dress and masturbate until I go blind. Then I'll go on disability and cross dress and masturbate some more.
44) I feel bitter and angry because I'm transgendered. I didn't ask for this! Why did God make me this way? I hate all transgendered people (including myself)!
45) I'll consult with a physician regarding medication for depression, compulsions, and self destructive impulses and also get involved in psychotherapy.
46) I can have cosmetic surgery and / or electrolysis to help me feel better about myself.
47) I can spend lots of time blaming nature, my parents, and society for making me the way I am.
48) I can get involved in the creative arts, acting, writing, film, dance, music, comedy, painting, design, etc. That will help me be someone or something else, and escape from who I am, or maybe help me express myself.
49) I can experiment with hormone therapy under the supervision of a physician. For example, I can plan to take hormones for a year, and then discontinue them, and see how I feel. This may help me decide how I should manage my life.
50) I can distinguish and refine my masculine and feminine personae, build two separate closets of clothes, fall in love with my selves, marry my selves, work at living happily ever after, and never be seen in public together.
51) I can grow a beard, get tattooed, join the military, play ice hockey or football, become a rock climber, race motorcycles or cars ... etc.
52) I could never be satisfied being anything other than a genetic man (or woman). Gender role change, hormones and surgery won't work for me. I'm a perfectionist. That's just the way I am.
53) I can have a 1000 hours of electrolysis and cross dress until there's no more hose and I've depleted the world's supply of mascara or, I can get into leathers and chains, act super macho and aggressive and let the world know what a real man is like.
54) I'm not a very good physical prospect for sex change. My hair is terrible, or gone ... in the wrong places. I'm not good looking enough. I'm too short or tall. My nose is too big or small. My hips are too big or not big enough. I'm too muscular or not muscular enough, etc.
55) I can have sex reassignment surgery with the mistaken belief that surgery will cure my problems getting along with myself and other people, but find that those same problems still exist after surgery.
56) I can finally accept that the Real Life Experience is the only way of knowing if I can be happy in the alternative gender role. Fantasies and part-time episodes will never give me the information I need. I can always return to my original gender role if it's clear things can't be worked out.
57) I can continue to live my life as I have been doing for years, in my present gender role, and not seek help or work on changing to build a more satisfying life. I can grow progressively more unhappy, miserable, and regretful as I grow older, while clearly knowing what the problem is, but fail to take the necessary steps to change and improve my life.
58) I can move to another city, state, or country where life won't be as tough. I'll leave these gender issues behind.
59) I can work at getting to know who I am and what I want. I can learn to take good care of myself. I'm the only person I'll always be with and who I'll never lose or who will never leave me.
60) I can call Shirley MacLaine for a consultation. She's gotta know a way out of this situation.
61) I'm too old. Change isn't possible at my age.
62) I can gradually, step by step, work at making the outside of me match the inside and not do anything irreversible unless I'm sure it's right for me. I'll work with professionals in the gender area to make sure the steps I take will help and not hurt me.
63) I can sit around and not do much, wring my hands, and become an expert at feeling sorry about my life.
64) To hell with society! I'll just live my life, MY Way! I'll do whatever I want, by myself! I don't need other people! I don't want to be around them! I'll read metaphysics or study the occult, mental telepathy, and stuff.
65) I can be a "mental cross dresser" or maybe a "mental transsexual." I'll fantasize about sex change, all the time, as much as I want.
66) I can obsessively worry about my life, spend most of my time trying to figure out why I'm this way and perhaps go crazy and end-up in a ward of a state hospital!
67) I need to find more things to read, more books, web sites and articles on gender dysphoria. I need to learn more about this topic.
68) I can settle down and realize that cross dressing is my hobby, a harmless avocation. If others have problems with what I do, that's their problem, not mine. I refuse to see myself as "sick." Society is the patient and needs treatment for trying to force me and others to live rigid, restrictive gender roles.
69) I can try for a new world record in deep depression.
70) I can double-up on my efforts at hiding who I am from myself and others and in the process get in shape for trying for a new record in repression and denial.
71) I can do the Real Life Experience, as quickly as I can, then have chest or genital reconstruction surgery and be done with this problem. I'll never have any gender issues again. I'll live happily ever after.
72) I can find a therapist to help me put the feminine and masculine parts of my two selves together ... to form one whole person ... who has peace-of-mind and is happier.
73) I've got too much free time to think about these things. I need more diversions, compulsions, escapes, hobbies.
74) I can recognize that when I fully accept myself, and clearly and consistently communicate my gender, the chance that significant others will accept me will increase. In other words, I will encounter opposition from family and friends as long as I communicate ambivalence concerning who I am, and a willingness to negotiate my expression of gender with others.
75) I'm willing to wait until medical science develops penis (or vagina) transplants. Maybe some kind of gene therapy can help me. I'll bet it's not far off!
76) The woman I'm living with is a fem and she wants me because I'm a butch. It will kill her if I become a transman. It won't work.
77) Forget the Real Life Experience! I can go to Mexico (or someplace) and surgically change my chest and /or genitals for "cash on the barrel-head." But then I might become a recluse and not really develop myself personally and socially and still be upset with my life, or worse yet, I might conclude I did the wrong thing.
78) I can educate others about transgender issues and, hopefully, help generate a measure of acceptance and tolerance.
79) I can accept that gender identity is forever.
80) I can practice finding positive consequences associated with being the kind of person I am and reduce my inclination to dwell on the negative.
81) Although at times my gender problems seem immense I know things could be much worse. It's possible to find solutions that will work for me, but it won't happen unless I work on it. This may mean I need to talk with important people in my life about who I am, define my issues, and experiment with solutions to my problems.
© 2002 by Rebecca Auge, Ph.D. All rights reserved.
Yahoo IM: vickiecd
Email: email@example.com
Website Director of http://tvals.org/
If you are not working to integrate your life
you are working to disintegrate it.
Callan Williams
"Courage is not the absence of fear
but rather the judgment that something else
is more important than fear."
Ambrose Redmoon
(by way of Donna Rose's 2006 SCC Speech)
People will do anything, no matter how absurd,
in order to avoid facing their own soul.
Carl Gustav Jung
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Brandon Teena - The Documentary
This is a documentary on the life of Brandon Teena. In the GLBTQ community I see a lot of backlash WITHIN the community against Transgender folk. How can we move forward if we continue to bicker where the "T" in GLBTQ belongs? In any case a life was lost, a life was taken too soon - the life of Brandon Teena.
Brandon Teena (part 1)
Brandon Teena (part 2)
Brandon Teena (part 3)
Brandon Teena (part 4)
Brandon Teena (part 5)
Brandon Teena (part 6)
Brandon Teena (part 7)
Brandon Teena (part 8)
Brandon Teena (part 9)
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Jennifer Finney Boylan has a new website
A week ago Betty (of Helen and Betty fame) announced on their MyHusbandBetty site. I just found it today:
So, it gives me great pleasure (amidst much trepidation) to announce that Jenny Boylan's New Website can be found here:Lots of good stuff including some fun readings by Jenny on YouTube videos. Good job Betty!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Warning Political Stuff to Follow!
Randi Rhodes (of Air America) addressed The 50th Anniversary party of PEACE ACTION of Michigan, November 11 2007. Her speech "WE BELIEVE" was received with standing ovation after standing ovation and her thoughts are shared through out the peace now & forever community. I am very proud & honored to share her thoughts & words with the "thinking & principled" of the world.
I love her more!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Mara Keisling on C-SPAN
NCTE Executive Director on C-SPAN
*******************************Last Saturday, November 10, NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling appeared on C-SPAN's Washington Journal to discuss the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). The forty-five minute show is now available on C-SPAN's website for viewing. It appears that this link may be available for only another week or so.
The National Center for Transgender Equality is a national social justice organization devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people. The National Center for Transgender Equality is a 501(c)3 organization. For more information, please visit www.nctequality.org.
How to walk like a lady
Move the top slider to change the way she walks. Lots to learn here! It is a whole class in feminine movement in one movie.
Rev. Drew Phoenix on Transgender Day of Remembrance
He was allowed to keep his job!
Rev. Erin Swenson on Transgender Day of Remembrance
Good job Rev. Swenson!
I found her story here! It made me cry.
It starts with:
The Rev. Erin Swenson's heart thumped wildly. She was so close to panic that her fingertips tingled. The crowd inside Shallowford Presbyterian Church in Atlanta stared at her in disbelief. Swenson, an ordained minister and father of two daughters, had just walked to the front of the church in a green dress, heels and an eggshell-white blouse. She was going to speak publicly for the first time about a 42-year-old secret that had driven her at times to thoughts of suicide.
Swenson told the hushed crowd that she was a woman born in a man's body. Now that she had taken steps to correct that, she made an unprecedented request before the assembly of Presbyterian church leaders: Allow her to retain her ordination as a minister, even though she had switched genders.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The Franklin Cross Dresser and Transvestite Meetup Group!
This is a good idea, now lets just meetup. Probably reinventing the Tvals wheel, but who cares.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Khadijah Farmer Lawsuit from The TransGriot
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Khadijah Farmer LawsuitPosted by Monica Roberts at 3:17 PM
TransGriot Note: Here's an example of what I and Lambda Legal have been talking about in terms of the transgender-free ENDA the House just passed NOT covering everyone in the GLB_t community.
Check out this New York Times article about Khadijah Farmer and her lawsuit against a New York City restaurant for throwing her out of the women's restroom hours after the NY Gay pride parade because of the bouncer's PERCEPTION that she was a man.
Sexual Stererotypes, Civl Rights, and A Suit About Both
By JENNIFER 8. LEE
Published: October 10, 2007
Women have been thrown out of men's bathrooms, men who identify as women have been thrown out of women's bathrooms and, of course, men have been known to get into trouble in men's rooms. But women minding their own business inside women's rooms have rarely been an issue, until now.
Yesterday, a New York woman filed suit against a West Village restaurant for being thrown out of a women's room there by a bouncer who, she said, did not care she was really female.
The woman, Khadijah Farmer, 28, who lives in Hell's Kitchen, said in an interview that she was at the Caliente Cab Company restaurant on Seventh Avenue with her companion and a friend after the gay pride parade on June 24 when she left the table to go to the women's room. While she was there, a male bouncer burst in.
"He began pounding on the stall door saying someone had complained that there was a man inside the women's bathroom, that I had to leave the bathroom and the restaurant," Ms. Farmer said. "Inside the stall door, I could see him. That horrified me, and it made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I said to him, 'I'm a female, and I'm supposed to be in here.'
"After I came out of the bathroom stall, I attempted to show him my ID to show him that I was in the right place, and he just refused to look at my identification. His exact words were, 'Your ID is neither here nor there.'"
Ms. Farmer said she often is mistaken for a man, but her New York State nondriver photo identification card clearly lists her as female.
She said the bouncer followed her up the stairs and back to the table, asked her party to pay for the appetizers they had eaten and made them leave the restaurant.
Telephone calls to the management at Caliente Cab Company were not returned yesterday. The bouncer was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund filed the lawsuit on behalf of Ms. Farmer in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. It accuses the restaurant of discriminating against Ms. Farmer because her appearance did not comply with society's norms concerning gender identity.
A 2002 amendment to the city's human rights law protects the rights of city residents whose gender expression is different from their sex at birth. The state's civil rights law does not include a similar protection. But the defense fund argues that it should be interpreted as protecting New Yorkers against sexual stereotyping, in which people are expected to conform to gender-appropriate behavior.
Although Ms. Farmer is not transgender, the legal defense group considered the suit to be a strategically important case with the potential to set a precedent, said Michael D. Silverman, the organization's executive director and general counsel. The lawsuit's claims are being made under both city and state law.
The fact that the bouncer refused to look at Ms. Farmer's identification card before ejecting her showed that he was judging her simply by how she looked, Mr. Silverman said.
Sexual stereotyping, he said, was expanded as a legal concept under a 1989 decision by the United States Supreme Court. In that case, Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, the court found, 6 to 3, that a woman had failed to make partner at the accounting firm Price Waterhouse in part because she was considered too "macho." The court ruled that male supervisors discriminated against her on the basis of stereotyped notions of appropriate female appearance and behavior.
"We're asking the court to say that sex stereotyping by public accommodation is just as harmful when practiced by a public accommodation like a restaurant as it is when it is practiced by an employer," Mr. Silverman said. "If Khadijah were wearing pearls and white gloves, would the bouncer have treated her like that?"
Kenji Yoshino, a Yale Law School professor who studies gender and sexuality under the law, said Ms. Farmer's claims were much stronger under the city law. "The New York City statute is so much more directly on point."
Ms. Farmer said she is mistaken for a man on a daily basis — especially in bathrooms and locker rooms, where she often gets funny looks. "I have a script that is almost routine," she said. "I say, 'I am a woman, and I'm supposed to be here.'"
"Usually," she added, "they are embarrassed."
Yahoo IM: vickiecd
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Website Director of http://tvals.org/
If you are not working to integrate your life
you are working to disintegrate it.
Callan Williams
"Courage is not the absence of fear
but rather the judgment that something else
is more important than fear."
Ambrose Redmoon
(by way of Donna Rose's 2006 SCC Speech)
Joe My God winner of the Best LGBT Blog for 2007.
Charlie Crist - "Marriage is a sacred relationship. Like I had, before I got divorced."
Dan Savage - "Have you gotten a good look at Heather Poe, Mary Cheney's partner of 15 years? My son has two fathers, but Heather Poe's left labial lip is butcher than both of us put together."
Just too funny!
Yahoo IM: vickiecd
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Website Director of http://tvals.org/
If you are not working to integrate your life
you are working to disintegrate it.
Callan Williams
"Courage is not the absence of fear
but rather the judgment that something else
is more important than fear."
Ambrose Redmoon
(by way of Donna Rose's 2006 SCC Speech)
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Bono, Edge & Brian Eno - One
I love this song! Love it! Love it! Love it!
It always makes me tear up, if not cry. It is probably the hormones, but I don't care, I love it!
Until today I did not understand the words. Today I searched and found these lyrics and read them again. I get it this time. The last time I read them it must have been a bad transcription. It is about a relationship that has gone bad. Been there, got the scars.
Artist: Bono
Song: One
Is it getting better, or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you, now you got someone to blame?
You say one love, one life, when it's one need in the night.
One love, we get to share it
Leaves you baby if you don't care for it.
Did I disappoint you or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love and you want me to go without.
Well, it's too late tonight to drag the past out into the light.
We're one, but we're not the same.
We get to carry each other, carry each other... one
Have you come here for forgiveness,
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus to the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much, more than a lot
You gave me nothing, now it's all I got.
We're one, but we're not the same.
Well, we hurt each other, then we do it again.
You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law.
You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on to what you got, when all you got is hurt.
One love, one blood, one life, you got to do what you should.
One life with each other: sisters, brothers.
One life, but we're not the same.
We get to carry each other, carry each other.
One, one.
One Response to "Dyke"
One Response to "Dyke"
- Vickie Davis Says:
November 7th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
"Double Queer," what an awful thought! But I guess that describes me too. Hot guys never "make me melt," although it does for several of my trans friends. I guess that does give them more to choose from out there.
I had been wondering for a while now, if I was to attempt to attract a lesbian, which I am ready to try to do, do I present as the femme or the butch? or does it matter? I don't have either an answer or a prospect yet. I am every bit at a loss, much the same way I was as a guy. So you know I did not go out much. I had to be asked out when I presented as a guy, so I guess that makes me the femme. Now what do I do?
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Matt Foreman Responds to Barney Frank
Thanks Marti!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Nashville's new glbt center: Out Central
Check out my newest you tube video for Out Central! To find out more info and how you can help go to outcentral.org
peace and love,
Monday, October 29, 2007
Rep. Anthony Weiner - Employment Non Discrimination Act
I found this on Donna Rose's blog and I just had to share it too.
The whole LGBT community should see this! Especially the HRC and Barny Frank. I am proud of Rep. Anthony Weiner!!
Donna Rose - Does Videos
Donna is giving a heart felt description of her transition.
My goodness this was recorded yesterday (I bet she got the day right even tho she got the date wrong. LOL.)
She is talking about her "TransLives Project: Our Stories, Our Selves" project. I wish I had her nerve to be as open as she is. She open and Donna to the whole world. I wish I had that kind of courage.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
'Gay' baby triggers row.
ninemsn.au - Posters of a rosy, puffy cheeked newborn baby have provoked controversy in Italy because the infant is shown wearing a wristband name-tag with the word "homosexual" written on it.
The photograph of the baby is part of a anti-discrimination campaign launched by Tuscany's regional government and is accompanied by the slogan: "Sexual orientation is not a choice."
"Homosexuality is not a vice and hence should not be condemned nor marginalised, or worse still persecuted," the Tuscany region's civil rights councillor Agostino Fragai told Milan-daily Corriere della Sera in a interview published.
Thousands of copies of the poster have been printed, and will go up on city walls and public offices around Tuscany with the sponsorship of Italy's centre-left government's Equal Opportunities Ministry.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Transgender Children-Out Of The Shadows
I saw Jenn Burleton at SCC this year and was very impressed with he dedication and her work.
In it's original release, this film by Jenn Burleton was viewed more than 300,000 times and translated into several languages. This Director's Cut version includes additional material more in line with the filmmaker's original vision.
It is a timely film about an issue facing children and youth that is far too often overlooked or sensationalized for political reasons.
If you support this film and the children and families it represents, then please consider supporting the organization that is working on behalf of these kids, TransActive Education & Advocacy.
Here is her almost unused blog transactive.blogspot.com/ Hopefully it will get better.
Here is another of her blogs with her SCC speech. transadvocate.com/transjennpdx Cool!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Donna Rose's
"The TranSelf Project:
Our Lives, Our Selves"
Friday, October 12, 2007
I do want to share a couple of things today. One, I think, is particularly important.
As a follow-up to my discussion yesterday about the need to education others about ourselves and how critical that effort will be on an ongoing basis I'm planning to begin something I'm calling it "The TranSelf Project: Our Lives, Our Selves" (or TLP, for those of us who are techie like me need acronyms). I am inviting people from around the country to provide video of themselves and the people in their lives, telling their story. Tell me how you feel, what you think, how you're doing. Share your struggle. What have you lost, what has disappointed you most, what has hurt you? On the other hand share what you've gained, your perspective on yourself and your gender. All in all, this is free form so there is no fixed format. There is no "right" way to do this. Take all the time you need. Share your story, your life, the people in your world, and how you're feeling.
HRC has launched a similar effort as part of their "Coming Out Project". But as long as we allow others to tell our stories we find ourselves dependent, and the fact of the matter is that nobody can tell our stories better than we can. We need to own that, and that process starts now. I know a doctor who lives in North Carolina whose wife has stayed with her during transition, who was forced to leave her church, who was forced out of the medical practice that she helped to establish only to move across town and start all over again. I know someone in Dallas who was outed by a friend at work and showed up the next day and was told that she was no longer welcome at the company, despite a 12-year history of excellence there. I know someone in Phoenix who struggled with her gender issues but it wasn't until she was arrested for DUI, sitting in the Tent City jail, that she realized what she had to do. I know of people who are the children of a trans parent who are proud and supportive. I know of spouses who have struggled to accept something they can't begin to understand, and who come to a sense of peace. We need to tell these stories. We need to share them with each other, and with the world.
Watch the HRC video outlining what they're looking for (see it here, note: there isn't a single transgender face there). That's what we're looking for, too. Personal stories. Not necessarily simply of coming out, but of anything you want to share. Your life. Your family. Your job. Your relationships. Your spirituality. Your perspective. Your dreams and your fears. We want whatever you can share. If you go to that YouTube page and click on any of the Video Responses below it you'll see what people are doing. One is here.
Take the video. Use a webcam if that's all you have. You can buy a neat little camera that records video meant for uploading to the web (see one here) for less than $100. Or, use a regular video camera if you've got one. Video quality isn't necessarily important but audio quality makes a huge difference. Be creative. I'll edit them if necessary so don't worry too much about that.
I'm setting up a couple of different ways to get the videos to me. I'll be setting up an ftp site for those who know how that works. Also, I'll be providing a mailing address if you want to burn your video to a CD or send the raw video from your camera. Or, upload it yourself onto YouTube or some other video site and send me the link so I can post it. Don't trash people. Don't be disrespectful of others. But most importantly, be honest.
Our Lives, Our Selves. It will be as successful (or not) as the videos that you provide. I'll provide the hosting. I'll provide the effort to get the videos ready, and to upload them. All you need to do is to share. It's not that sharing our stories makes a big difference - it makes all the difference. I'll have more detail on this as it becomes real, but the time to start thinking about it and working on it is now.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
The Tvals is on the ENDA list!
United opposition to sexual-orientation-only
nondiscrimination legislation
Recent Signatories, Oct. 16
The United Church of Christ Coalition for LGBT Concerns
Knox Boyz of East Tennessee
Tennessee Chapter of Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA)
Alternative Counseling Center
TransMasculine Community Network
Pride At Work, Martin Luther King County WA Chapter
University of Minnesota Transgender Commission
American Veterans For Equal Rights
Pride Foundation
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG)
The Tennessee Vals
Santa Cruz County Task Force for LGBTIQ Youth (Santa Cruz, CA)
National Sexuality Resource Center
See this link for the whole list:
The Right Brain vs Left Brain test
The Right Brain vs Left Brain test ... do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?If clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa.
Most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it.
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
risk taking
Friday, October 12, 2007
God of Love - Produced by my new friend Joni Christion
God of Love/Dreams Happen
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Transgender Wellness Benefits
Oh my god! It says I am covered. I had heard that it was but had never seen it in print. Do I have the nerve to get it all done? I guess I am using 3 of those 5, already. It does not mention SRS/GRS, but I had heard it did.
The following 78 employers rated in the 2008 Corporate Equality Index indicated "Benefit offered, transgender treatment covered," meaning treatment is not excluded for medically necessary treatment related to gender dysphoria or gender reassignment for each of the five categories of treatment.
• AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah
- Counseling by a mental health professional (e.g.: gender dysphoria diagnosis)
- Pharmacy benefits (e.g.: hormone therapy)
- Medical visits (e.g.: to monitor the effects of hormone therapy and associated lab procedures)
- Medically necessary surgical procedures (e.g.: hysterectomy, as part of gender-reassignment)
- Short-term leave for surgical procedures
• Adobe Systems Inc.
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
• Alcatel-Lucent
• American Express Co.
• Ameriprise Financial Inc.
• AmTrust Bank
• AT&T Inc.
• Avaya Inc.
• Avon Products Inc.
• Bank of America Corp.
• Brinker International Inc.
• Campbell Soup Co.
• Chrysler LLC
• CIGNA Corp.
• Countrywide Financial Corp.
• Dean Foods Co.
• Deloitte & Touche USA LLP
• Delta Air Lines Inc.
• Deutsche Bank
• DuPont (E.I. du Pont de Nemours)
• Eastman Kodak Co.
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co.
• Ernst & Young LLP
• Exelon Corp.
• Faegre & Benson
• Foley & Lardner LLP
• Genentech Inc.
• General Motors Corp.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc., The
• Gordon & Rees
• Guidant Corp.
• Hallmark Cards Inc.
• HSBC North America Holdings Inc.
• Imation Corp.
• International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)
• John Hancock Financial Services Inc.
• Johnson & Johnson
• Katten Muchin Zavis
• Keyspan Corp
• Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group Inc.
• Kirkland & Ellis
• Kraft Foods Inc.
• Land O'Lakes
• LaSalle Bank Corp.
• Latham & Watkins LLP
• Lehman Brothers Holdings
• Lexmark International Inc.
• Marriott International Inc.
• McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., The
• Medtronic Inc.
• Microsoft Corp.
• Morrison & Foerster LLP
• Nokia
• Northern Trust Corp.
• PG&E Corp.
• Pitney Bowes Inc.
• Progressive Corp., The
• Proskauer Rose LLP
• Recreational Equipment Inc.
• Replacements Ltd.
• Rite Aid Corp.
• Schering-Plough Corp.
• Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal
• Sprint Nextel Corp
• Starcom MediaVest Group
• Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
• State Farm Group
• Steptoe & Johnson
• Visteon Corp.
• Wachovia Corp.
• Walt Disney Co.
• Whirlpool Corp.
• Wildman Harrold Allen & Dixon
• Williams Companies Inc.
• Wyndham Worldwide Corp.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
The 237 reasons to have sex
List of 237 reasons that motivate people to have sex
1. I was "in the heat of the moment."
2. It just happened.
3. I was bored.
4. It just seemed like "the thing to do."
5. Someone dared me.
6. I desired emotional closeness (i.e., intimacy).
7. I wanted to feel closer to God.
8. I wanted to gain acceptance from friends.
9. It's exciting, adventurous.
10. I wanted to make up after a fight.
11. I wanted to get rid of aggression.
12. I was under the influence of drugs.
13. I wanted to try to get a better mate than my current mate.
14. I wanted to express my love for the person.
15. I wanted to experience the physical pleasure.
16. I wanted to show my affection to the person.
17. I felt like I owed it to the person.
18. I was attracted to the person.
19. I was sexually aroused and wanted the release.
20. My friends were having sex and I wanted to fit in.
21. It feels good.
22. My partner kept insisting.
23. The person was famous and I wanted to be able to say I had sex with him/her.
24. I was physically forced to.
25. I was verbally coerced into it.
26. I wanted the person to love me.
27. I wanted to have a child.
28. I wanted to make someone else jealous.
29. I wanted to have more sex than my friends.
30. I was married and you're supposed to.
31. I was tired of being a virgin.
32. I was "horny."
33. I wanted to feel loved.
34. I was feeling lonely.
35. Everyone else was having sex.
36. I wanted the attention.
37. It was easier to "go all the way" than to stop.
38. I wanted to ensure the relationship was "committed."
39. I was competing with someone else to "get the person."
40. I wanted to "gain control" of the person.
41. I was curious about what the person was like in bed.
42. I was curious about sex.
43. I wanted to feel attractive.
44. I wanted to please my partner.
45. I wanted to display submission.
46. I wanted to release anxiety/stress
47. I didn't know how to say "no."
48. I felt like it was my duty.
49. I wanted to end the relationship.
50. My friends pressured me into it.
51. I wanted the adventure/excitement.
52. I wanted the experience.
53. I felt obligated to.
54. It's fun.
55. I wanted to get even with someone (i.e., revenge).
56. I wanted to be popular.
57. It would get me gifts.
58. I wanted to act out a fantasy.
59. I hadn't had sex for a while.
60. The person was "available."
61. I didn't want to "lose" the person.
62. I thought it would help "trap" a new partner.
63. I wanted to capture someone else's mate.
64. I felt sorry for the person.
65. I wanted to feel powerful.
66. I wanted to "possess" the person.
67. I wanted to release tension.
68. I wanted to feel good about myself.
69. I was slumming.
70. I felt rebellious.
71. I wanted to intensify my relationship.
72. It seemed like the natural next step in my relationship.
73. I wanted to be nice.
74. I wanted to feel connected to the person.
75. I wanted to feel young.
76. I wanted to manipulate him/her into doing something for me.
77. I wanted him/her to stop bugging me about sex.
78. I wanted to hurt/humiliate the person.
79. I wanted the person to feel good about himself/herself.
80. I didn't want to disappoint the person.
81. I was trying to "get over" an earlier person/relationship.
82. I wanted to reaffirm my sexual orientation.
83. I wanted to try out new sexual techniques or positions.
84. I felt guilty.
85. My hormones were out of control.
86. It was the only way my partner would spend time with me.
87. It became a habit.
88. I wanted to keep my partner happy.
89. I had no self-control.
90. I wanted to communicate at a "deeper" level.
91. I was afraid my partner would have an affair if I didn't have sex with him/her.
92. I was curious about my sexual abilities.
93. I wanted a "spiritual" experience.
94. It was just part of the relationship "routine."
95. I wanted to lose my inhibitions.
96. I got "carried away."
97. I needed another "notch on my belt."
98. The person demanded that I have sex with him/her.
99. The opportunity presented itself.
100. I wanted to see what it would be like to have sex while stoned (e.g., on marijuana or some other drug).
101. It's considered "taboo" by society.
102. I wanted to increase the number of sex partners I had experienced.
103. The person was too "hot" (sexy) to resist.
104. I thought it would relax me.
105. I thought it would make me feel healthy.
106. I wanted to experiment with new experiences.
107. I wanted to see what it would be like to have sex with another person.
108. I thought it would help me to fall asleep.
109. I could brag to other people about my sexual experience.
110. It would allow me to "get sex out of my system" so that I could focus on other things.
111. I wanted to decrease my partner's desire to have sex with someone else.
112. It would damage my reputation if I said "no."
113. The other person was too physically attractive to resist.
114. I wanted to celebrate something.
115. I was seduced.
116. I wanted to make the person feel better about herself/himself.
117. I wanted to increase the emotional bond by having sex.
118. I wanted to see whether sex with a different partner would feel different or better.
119. I was mad at my partner, so I had sex with someone else.
120. I wanted to fulfill a previous promise to my partner.
121. It was expected of me.
122. I wanted to keep my partner from straying.
123. I wanted the pure pleasure.
124. I wanted to dominate the other person.
125. I wanted to make a conquest.
126. I'm addicted to sex.
127. It was a favor to someone.
128. I wanted to be used or degraded.
129. Someone offered me money to do it.
130. I was drunk.
131. It seemed like good exercise.
132. I was pressured into doing it.
133. The person offered to give me drugs for doing it.
134. I was frustrated and needed relief.
135. It was a romantic setting.
136. I felt insecure.
137. My regular partner is boring, so I had sex with someone else.
138. I was on the "rebound" from another relationship.
139. I wanted to boost my self-esteem
140. I wanted to get my partner to stay with me.
141. Because of a bet.
142. It was a special occasion.
143. It was the next step in the relationship.
144. I wanted to get a special favor from someone.
145. I wanted to get back at my partner for having cheated on me.
146. I wanted to enhance my reputation.
147. I wanted to keep warm.
148. I wanted to punish myself.
149. I wanted to break up a rival's relationship by having sex with his/her partner.
150. I wanted to stop my partners' nagging.
151. I wanted to achieve an orgasm.
152. I wanted to brag to friends about my conquests.
153. I wanted to improve my sexual skills.
154. I wanted to get a job.
155. I wanted to get a raise.
156. I wanted to get a promotion.
157. I wanted to satisfy a compulsion.
158. I wanted to make money.
159. I wanted to keep my partner satisfied.
160. I wanted to change the topic of conversation.
161. I wanted to get out of doing something.
162. I wanted to test my compatibility with a new partner.
163. I wanted to get a partner to express love.
164. I wanted to put passion back into my relationship.
165. I wanted to prevent a breakup.
166. I wanted to become one with another person.
167. I wanted to get a favor from someone.
168. I wanted to breakup my relationship.
169. I wanted to give someone else a sexually transmitted disease (e.g., herpes, AIDS).
170. I wanted to breakup another's relationship.
171. I wanted to avoid hurting someone's feelings.
172. I wanted to make myself feel better about myself.
173. I wanted to get rid of a headache.
174. I was afraid to say "no" due to the possibility of physical harm.
175. I wanted to keep my partner from straying.
176. I wanted to burn calories.
177. I wanted to even the score with a cheating partner.
178. I wanted to hurt an enemy.
179. I wanted to feel older.
180. It is my genetic imperative.
181. It was an initiation rite to a club or organization.
182. I wanted to become more focused on work - sexual thoughts are distracting.
183. I wanted to say "I've missed you."
184. I wanted to celebrate a birthday or anniversary or special occasion.
185. I wanted to say "I'm sorry."
186. I wanted to return a favor.
187. I wanted to say "Thank You."
188. I wanted to welcome someone home.
189. I wanted to say "goodbye."
190. I wanted to defy my parents.
191. I wanted to relieve menstrual cramps.
192. I wanted to relieve "blue balls."
193. I wanted to get the most out of life.
194. I wanted to feel feminine.
195. I wanted to feel masculine.
196. I am a sex addict.
197. I wanted to see what all the fuss is about.
198. I thought it would boost my social status.
199. The person had a lot of money.
200. The person's physical appearance turned me on.
201. The person was a good dancer.
202. Someone had told me that this person was good in bed.
203. The person had beautiful eyes.
204. The person made me feel sexy.
205. An erotic movie had turned me on.
206. The person had taken me out to an expensive dinner.
207. The person was a good kisser.
208. The person had bought me jewelry.
209. The person had a great sense of humor.
210. The person seemed self-confident.
211. The person really desired me.
212. The person was really desired by others.
213. I wanted to gain access to that person's friend.
214. I felt jealous.
215. The person flattered me.
216. I wanted to see if I could get the other person into bed.
217. The person had a desirable body.
218. I had not had sex in a long time.
219. The person smelled nice.
220. The person had an attractive face.
221. I saw the person naked and could not resist.
222. I was turned on by the sexual conversation.
223. The person was intelligent.
224. The person caressed me.
225. The person wore revealing clothes.
226. The person had too much to drink and I was able to take advantage of him/her.
227. I knew the person was usually "out of my league."
228. The person was mysterious.
229. I realized I was in love.
230. I wanted to forget about my problems.
231. I wanted to reproduce.
232. I/she was ovulating.
233. I wanted my partner to notice me.
234. I wanted to help my partner forget about his/her problems.
235. I wanted to lift my partner's spirits.
236. I wanted to submit to my partner.
237. I wanted to make my partner feel powerful.
University of Texas study
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
TransYouth Family Advocates
Jenn Burleton was a keynote SoCo speaker at SCC and I was impressed.
Helen Boyd has the text of her speech on her site: (EN)GENDER.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Transgender singer songwriter Namoli Brenette in Nashville tonight!
Namoli Brenette was at the SingOut Benefit for Nashville's OutCentral (Nashville's first GLBTQIF Cultural Center.) I really enjoyed the show and especially her part. I would not have ever guessed she was "transgendered," if she had not said so. Katie was out for a beer or a cigarette or something, when Namoli told us. When Katie returned, I told her, and she did not believe me.
When I got home I Googled her and found she had been on GenderTalk September 22, 2003 (4 years ago today,) and they played her music again in December 1, 2003.
I purchased 3 of her CDs at the show. They are on my iPod already!
One thing I did notice was that she had the same sad eyes, that I had seen in so many of the trans-men at SCC. I wonder why?
Visit Namoli's website at www.NamoliBrennet.com and her MySpace page www.MySpace.com/BamoliBrennet Her website plays an assortment of her music very nicely. Well done!
They played the song Boy in a Dress on Gendertalk and I found these word for the song on her web site. I read them and almost immediately burst into tears. Powerful song, but the CD is no longer available, but I downloaded the song from iTunes. I'll probably get the rest of the songs tomorrow. :)
Boy in a Dress
Boy in a Dress
When I was a little girl
free as a bird
painting my world
I filled it with colors like birthday balloons
When I was seven years old
out on the road
I once was called - a girl
"you can tell by the way that she throws"
When I was only nine
doing just fine
stay in the lines
fill in the dots with the picture you see
but I never saw no picture like me
When I was only thirteen
I looked at me
I could have seen
a girl or a boy in a dress or a girl
boy in a dress or a girl or a boy in a dress
What I call hard
seems so damn easy for everybody else
Fifteen became twenty-one
man, I was gone
but I had some fun
when I was not passed out on somebody's lawn
Oh no...
Twenty-one turned twenty-five
turned twenty-nine
bided my time
trying to hide from the things I could feel
hide from the things I could feel
I could hide
What I call hard
seems so damn easy for everybody else
When I was just thirty-three
I looked at me
I could have seen
a girl or a boy in a dress, or a girl
boy in a dress or a girl or a boy in a dress
or a girl, or a boy in a dress
or a girl.
Well done girl! You are there, and you rock! I am so proud of you! Say "Hi," to Holly for me.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Helen and Betty on the Diana Cage Radio Show on Sirius OutQ
http://www.tvals.org/vickie/H&B -on-OutQ.WAV 25.24MB
Thursday, September 20, 2007
You're invited to join my 2007 SCC group room!
Vickie at "Hot or Not" new picture today.
Monday, September 10, 2007
"She's Not There" by Jennifer Boylan is on a "Recommended Books for Grade 10" list.
Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachusetts, has She's Not There by Jennifer Boylan on their "Recommended Books for Grade 10" list.
Grade 10! Wow! What a school! Good for them!
Friday, September 07, 2007
Saturday, September 01, 2007
150 Years of GLBT History
150 Years of GLBT History
Walt Whitman publishes the first edition of Leaves of Grass
The term "homosexuality" appears in print for the first time in a German pamphlet
Bayard Taylor publishes Joseph and His Friend, the first gay novel
Oscar Wilde is convicted on charges of "gross indecency" and sentenced to two years hard labor
In Germany, Scientific Humanitarian Committee is founded, the world's first organization dedicated to ending legal and social oppression of gays
"Gay" comes into use in reference to homosexuals
Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness, the first lesbian novel, is published in the U.S.
Nazis disband the Scientific Humanitarian Committee
Nazis send homosexuals to concentration camps, forcing them to wear an identifying pink triangle badge
Alan Turing engages in WWII code-breaking work at Bletchley Park, England
The Mattachine Society, the first American homophile group, is founded in NY
Alan Turing dies by suicide months after being given libido-reducing hormone treatment as a punishment for homosexuality
James Baldwin publishes Giovanni's Room, a gay-themed novel
In the UK, the Wolfenden Report's recommendation of decriminalization of homosexual acts for consenting adults causes public controversy
Barbara Gittings founds the NY chapter of the lesbian organization Daughters of Bilitis
Illinois is the first U.S. state to decriminalize homosexuality
Bayard Rustin coordinates African-American civil rights March on Washington
First gay rights demonstration takes place in New York, protesting discrimination in the military
Annual gay civil rights demonstrations at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, by Barbara Gittings and others
The Metropolitan Community Church founded in Los Angeles
Sylvia Rivera and others participate in the Stonewall Uprising in NYC
First gay pride marches in the U.S. commemorate Stonewall
Frank Kameny becomes the first openly gay candidate for U.S. Congress
American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its list of mental disorders
Barbara Jordan testifies in President Nixon's impeachment hearing
Sgt. Leonard Matlovich sues the Air Force for discharging him. First national gay rights legislation bill introduced in U.S. Congress
Harvey Milk elected to San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Harvey Milk assassinated in San Francisco City Hall
First national gay rights March on Washington attracts more than 100,000
Publication of John Boswell's book Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality
Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) founded by Larry Kramer and others
Martina Navratilova comes out
Fr. Mychal Judge founds St. Francis AIDS Ministry
Representative Barney Frank comes out
Larry Kramer founds ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power)
Section 28 is passed in the UK
Ian McKellen and others form Stonewall to campaign for the repeal of Section 28
Denmark becomes the first country to legally recognize same-sex partnerships
Tim Gill and Martina Navratilova oppose Colorado Amendment 2
Elton John AIDS Foundation started
Tim Gill founds the Gill Foundation
Andrew Sullivan publishes Virtually Normal
Representative Jim Kolbe comes out
Ellen DeGeneres outs herself and her sitcom character on primetime tv
Adrienne Rich declines the National Medal of Arts
Gay student Matthew Shepard is killed in Wyoming
Jim Hormel is appointed the first openly gay U.S. ambassador
Phill Wilson founds the Black AIDS Institute
Father Mychal Judge dies at the World Trade Center
Lowell Selvin leads formation of PlanetOut Inc.
Germany enacts domestic partnership legislation, with leadership from Volker Beck
Lupe Valdez elected Sheriff of Dallas County, Texas
Sheryl Swoopes comes out
First gay pride march in Moscow ends in violence, including injury and arrest of Volker Beck
Yahoo IM: vickiecd
Email: email@example.com
Website Director of http://tvals.org/
If you are not working to integrate your life
you are working to disintegrate it.
Callan Williams
"Courage is not the absence of fear
but rather the judgment that something else
is more important than fear."
Ambrose Redmoon
(by way of Donna Rose's 2006 SCC Speech)


text:
People have been left fearing for their businesses and their customers' safety after travellers returned to Warwick this week.
Over Christmas and New Year travellers settled on several sites in Hampton Road and at St Nicholas Park car park.
And on Monday, around 30 caravans returned to Hampton Road, just seven weeks after the last group was forced to move on.
Hannah Reilly, the principal and owner of Hannah Clare School of Dance, which is in the Westend Centre on Hampton Road, has become increasingly concerned for the safety of the parents and children who come to her.
She said: "We operate five days-a-week and when you get to the road there are dogs and children running across the road. They are very intimidating.
"I spoke to the police on Tuesday morning and they said to just carry on as normal. On Tuesday evening when the parents travelled in, the teenagers were knocking on car windows and kicking the cars. The parents were scared and intimidated and I called the police. It took them 45 minutes to come down and I had to cancel the class.
"We pay our taxes to make sure our area is safe and I am really concerned it is not safe for the children and parents to drive through them.
"We, the businesses at the Westend Centre, are fearing for our business. I never thought I would be scared of teenagers."
The Westend Centre was one of the sites where travellers set up camp in December and the businesses there have had to resort to hiring a security guard and ensuring someone is on the property round-the-clock.
Mrs Reilly said: "If the council is having a meeting they should be inviting residents, me and people from the Westend Centre whose businesses are all being affected.
"It is so ridiculous that it's happening again so soon. We can't carry on like this."
Martyn Ashford, a Warwick district councillor, said: "Measures need to be put in place to stop this happening again and them being able to get onto the site.
"I would like to stress to people not to take the law into their own hands and to not go down there but to leave it to the police."
Martin Rone-Clarke, Gypsy Traveller relations officer for the police, said: "Warwickshire Police is aware that members of the travelling community are currently camped on land in Hampton Street, Warwick and we are working with Warwick district Council to establish whether any crimes have been committed and what legal options are available to recover the land at the earliest opportunity.
"Officers are conducting extra patrols in the area and members of the public are encouraged to report any concerns about anti-social behaviour or criminal activity and these will be investigated."
According to the Chase Meadow Residents' Association Facebook page the police have advised the travellers to leave Hampton Road by Sunday evening and that if they fail to do so Section 61 powers will be used on Monday.
A spokesperson from Warwick district council, said: "Officers from Warwick district council visited the site on Hampton Road Tuesday morning with the police and have started our legal process to bring the encampment to an end.
"The police are using their Section 61 power on several Travellers who have been identified as having returned to the site after the police required them to leave, via the Section 61 power, on 28 December 2016 (the Section 61 power for a site is valid for three months).
"A report has been prepared to look at preventative and legal measures the council can take to prevent illegal encampments and this is due to be considered by the council's Executive in early March."


text:
HowFile Unlimited Sharing Cloud Storage
HowFile Unlimited Sharing Cloud Storage
HowFile.com - Super Could Storage Spaces, Unlimited Download services
- Free 50G Storage
- Premium member 200G Storage
- Parteners 200G to 500G Storage
Picture direct Links
- Support HD pictures
- Best for Sellers and webmasters
High Speed Download
- A variety of download method
- High-speed downloads, no wait!
HowFile Unlimited Sharing Cloud Storage
HowFile - high-speed network disk, unmatched speed
HowFile.com provides unlimited shared network disk services, users can get the fastest download speed experience.
Upload: online storage of your documents, software, video, pictures, music and other information. Senior Member 200G Storage.
Share: quickly and easily shared with your friends, support for pictures outside links. And the music and video outside link is about to support
Download: unlimited resume high-speed multi-threaded download, support download tools and resume from breakpoints
- email@example.com


text:
#50 Chianina - Long Beach
Rating: 4.5 cows
It's not every day you get to visit a steakhouse with its own herd of cattle, but this was our situation on a Sunday evening in Long Beach as we prepared for Steakout #50. Chianina (pronounced Key-a-nee-na) opened in December 2013, on Naples island in Long Beach's East end. Owned by local restauranteur Michael Dene, Chianina's claim to fame is owning their own private herd of cattle from which their most exclusive steaks are cut. Chianina is the name of an Italian breed of cattle, not widely known here in the U.S.
The exterior is unassuming, and the interior is modern and minimalist. Some of us arrived early and partook of the Happy Hour specials—$8 for select cocktails and a tantalizing $32 steak dinner that was half off. Being (hungry) men of science, we ordered the steak to split, along with our cocktails. The meal came with fries and a salad. Three of us split it, and every piece was executed well. The salad was crisp and fresh, the fries were above average, and the steak was tender and well-cooked (but not well-done). It's hard to imagine a better appetizer for our dinner. The complimentary truffle popcorn was also a nice touch.
The dining room at Chianina is small, with room for only about 15 tables. The bar overlooks the dining area with about 12 stools facing a few television screens. The atmosphere isn't loud, but neither is it quiet. There is lots of grey here. The walls and much of the furniture are adorned in one or another shade of it.
For our meal, we sampled the very best Chianina has to offer. Four of us split their signature Bisteca alla Fiorentina (porterhouse) which clocked in at a delectable 55oz (MP $290). We ordered the Beef Tasting ($115), featuring 4oz selections of NY Strip from three varieties of beef—the namesake Chianina, Prime Black Angus, and American Wagyu. Rounding out our order was the Piedmontese NY ($48) and the Petite Filet Mignon ($42). For sides we ordered the Brussels sprouts, carrots, gnocchi, and the potatoes au gratin. We also kicked things off with the Caesar salad, which was every bit as good as most steakhouse variations, but failed to really stand out. That's OK though, we didn't come here for the salad.
On to the main course. Steaks. In a word, they were fantastic. The Bisteca is no joke, a gargantuan steak closing in on around 2" in thickness. The steak was table-filleted and one of the best cuts of meat we've tasted. It was flavorful, juicy, and cooked to perfection. When we ordered, our waitress cautioned our "rare plus" preference, telling us that the steaks are "true to ordering". This threw us for a bit of a loop, since we've yet to have a rare plus steak that felt too raw. She was right however—the rare plus steaks we ordered were cooked exactly right, and they were delicious. Somewhere there may be footage of Geoff gnawing on the porterhouse bone, protecting his "precious".
The Beef Tasting was excellent as well, though the Chianina cut (which tends to be leaner) wasn't the favorite. Instead, the Prime Black Angus won the taste test with the Wagyu coming in a close second. That's not to say the Chianina wasn't delicious—it was—but it may be our tastes prefer a slightly more marbled variation.
The NY and Filet were also top notch and both were expertly prepared. The NY gets the edge in this case, the filet was a touch drier than we would have liked. That said, if filet mignon is your steak of choice, ordering it likely won't disappoint. True to its cut, the NY had rich marbling and a robust flavor, triggered by the nice char on the outside.
The sides were definitely above average, with the Brussels sprouts a standout here. They were crispy and cooked with a basalmic reduction and cracked hazelnuts—probably the best interpretation we've yet tried. The gnocchi was tender, but lacked flavor. The au gratin were good, but it's pretty hard to mess that up. The carrots and greens were pretty good too, and a pleasant departure from the standard steakhouse side dish offering.
Closing out the evening was a banana, caramel and chocolate ganache concoction. None of us were really hungry, but a few bites of that was a great way to close out the night.
It was not hard to rate Chianina. This place is solid on just about every front. The drinks, steaks, sides, service—it's all really good and we highly recommend it. It's not always easy for us to agree, but our 4.5 Cow rating was practically unanimous. Thanks Chianina for helping us celebrate our big 5-0!


text:
|Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane, the chairman of the Hunger Games.
|Perseus (Sam Worthington) in Wrath of the Titans; who else is being caught "between a rock and a hard spot" today?
In watching this trailer, we have to ask, "Who else is currently reigning over a kingdom that has fallen into ruin?" When we see kingdoms in ruin, like the queen's in next week's Mirror, Mirror, and Ravenna's (Charlize Theron) in Snow White and the Huntsman, that easily translates to the state of the American economy today (which also includes The Hunger Games), and that the ruined kingdom is becoming a trend in films means that everyone is trying to say something about it and how, and by whom, the kingdom will be saved and what it is causing the ruin is what is making this a great year for film.
|Has someone else "outgrown" what they could wear when they first came to power? Has someone else gotten "too big for their britches?"


text:
Neon thoughts blinking and begging for my mind to settle. Racing thoughts speed past my brain leaving my mind to a primitive state of survival.
I close my eyes and the scenery doesn't change, it enhances the confusion making me dizzy with nauseated fear the day won't end if night is all i see.
My ears are deaf to my surroundings and scenes of an electric existence replace the sound of the tv that sits alone repeating episodes of drama.
I hold my keys in my hand forgetfully trying to escape wondering if the hum of the car and the sound of rubber on asphalt will at least transport me to the nowhere that's quite and relaxing.
I can smell fresh cut hay and exhaust with my memories. I can taste the straw dangling between my tobacco tax stained teeth. My muscles tighten at the memories of the work I hated that I wish I could still do. At this moment I want a field of hay, or a 60 pound ruck to sweat the world away with the calm feel of exhaustion.
I'm never in the proper tense. Then I was here, now I'm there. I travel off kilter never in the moment. The hope and dread weigh heavy on my footsteps. It's hard to move forward while I'm trying and difficult to sit still without thinking of every move that would get me to now.
I don't know if I should slow down or speed up. I can't seem to have my ambitions align with my motivations. I'm intelligent, but being smart eludes me. I'm compassionate, but angry. I'm engaged, but distracted. The pace of my life is impossibly random.
So here I sit writing to you hoping I'm not the only tortured soul who's spirit has a mind of its own. I'm thinking about the work I have to do and the words screaming to get out of my head. Then I remember my mind controls my brain that is full of experiences and dreams. My life is full of hopes and dreams. So all I have to do is move out of my own way.


text:
Local Can't Pay, Won't Pay group to support INTO march
The Can't Pay, Won't Pay Cloch Cheann Fhaola campaign is taking part in Saturday's local INTO march against education cuts to support opposition to austerity policies.
The INTO march is scheduled to assemble at 12 noon on Saturday, Feb. 25th, at the NUI Galway Acadamh in the Gaoth Dobhair Business Park.
The local protest, organised by the Gaoth Dobhair and Cloích Cheann Fhaola branch of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), was scheduled to coincide with similar protests being held around the country.
Can't Pay, Won't Pay Cloch Cheann Fhaola, which opposes the government's household, septic tank and water charges, will also continue their own weekly protests at 12 noon on Fridays at the Falcarragh crossroads. Campaign organisers asked participants to bring non-political posters.
Due to Saturday's march against education cuts, the next Can't Pay, Won't Pay Cloch Cheann Fhaola organising meeting will be in Óstán Loch Altan at 1pm on Saturday, March 3rd.
More information is available on the group's Facebook page.


text:
We are on the hunt for a seasoned Digital Account Manager to add to our close-knit team. Candidates should have 3+ years of professional experience in managing client relationship, project management and digital strategy. In a leading role on the Client Management team, the Digital Account Manager will work to establish tight-knit relationships with our clients/employees and oversee that our deliverables are according to our clients' standards. You will also help to lead strategic, creative and integrated initiatives, with accountability for digital experience across all lines of business.
Develop & deliver client presentations
Lead strategic discussions
Manage self-serve media
Develop, manage & grow accounts
Build & maintain strong client relationships
3+ years of Account Manager experience
Solid understanding of social media advertising
Excellent customer service skills
Skilled at analyzing data & deriving insights
Advanced knowledge of digital strategy
We are on the hunt for a seasoned SEM / PPC Specialist to add to our close-knit team. Candidates should have 3-5 years of professional experience managing successful Search Engine Marketing campaigns. Our SEM Specialist will be an integrated member of the media team, responsible for facilitating the strategy, implementation, optimization and reporting for client's SEM initiatives. You will leverage your expert knowledge of SEM to maximize campaign efficiency, keep budgets on track, and translate disparate data sets into actionable insights.
Employ best practices to increase PPC performance
Review and editing of ad creative/copy
Review and analyze website performance metrics
Assist with campaign strategy development
Provide mentorship to Junior SEM Managers
3-5 years experience managing PPC campaigns
Possess AdWords certification
In depth knowledge of search marketing landscape
Meticulous attention to detail
Top-notch analytical skills
We are on the hunt for a seasoned Community Manager to add to our close-knit team. Candidates should have 2-3 years of professional experience managing social communities for enterprise level clients. You will report to our V.P. Digital Strategy and work closely with our entire Digital Marketing team on the day-to-day management of your clients' social media campaigns. We value strategic thinkers, motivated self-starters, positive attitudes, and strong work ethic.
Daily maintenance of social media platforms
Monitor and moderate user generated content
Provide reports on community feedback
Facebook/Instagram/Twitter post & copy creation
Source influencers & execute influencer campaigns
2-3 years of community management experience
Fluency in multiple social media platforms
Experience using social media management tools
Possess understanding of social media advertising
Comfortable creating branded content
Apply Now!
If you would like to apply to any of the open positions listed above, you can do so using this form.
If there is no position currently available that suits you, we suggest that you send along your resume anyway as we are always on the lookout for talented and passionate individuals to join our growing team.