Not many good 'lords' in fiction these days, huh?
I’ve talked before about using Voldemort as a tongue-in-cheek stand-in for my old name, and how hearing my old name has an effect on me. Well, this past week it came up a few times, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how to handle it.
First, while teaching my high school class, they were coming up with improvised stories. I always love watching kids do this, particularly more advanced classes, because the things they come up with are inevitably ridiculous but often very engaging and enjoyable to watch. On this past Saturday, someone must have had my old name on their mind because it was used in two stories for the main character’s name.
I, of course, immediately began questioning myself: was one of the kids making fun of me? How would they even know? What were they giggling about? How self-conscious did I need to be? If I said something along the lines of, “Wow, that names popular today,” would they know why I said it?
Continue reading 'Voldemort! (A post on names)'»
Seems like LGBT issues and school is the thing to write about! An article from Boston claims Even Those ’Gay-Friendly’ Colleges Aren’t Really:
The 2010 State of Higher Education for LGBT People reports on the experiences of nearly 6,000 students, faculty, staff and administrators in all 50 states. It shows significant harassment of students and a lack of safety and inclusiveness, even among those supposedly “welcoming” institutions.
The article goes on to discuss the stats generated from these reports, including the high number of LGB and T folks experiencing harassment. LGB and T is counted separately, which I think is a good thing: it highlights how being trans places people at an even higher risk of harassment than being lesbian, gay, or bi.
I wasn’t particularly ‘out’ at college, and only began taking hormones shortly before I graduated. As such, I (fortunately!) don’t have much personal experience on being harassed while at school. Or, indeed, much at all. (Again, fortunately.) I’d like to say that Northwestern would have been a great community in which to transition, but I guess I’ll never know.
There have been a few articles recently about trans kids and school. First, the Montreal Gazette had an article which asks “How should schools handle transgender kids“? It covered a family in Florida who was letting their 8-year-old child self-identify as a boy:
“This is just who he is — his brain is just wired in such a way that he’s male. It doesn’t matter what his genitalia is,” said the child’s mom, whose name the Orlando Sentinel agreed to withhold because she wants to protect her child’s identity
Handling things a little differently is a school in Michigan which refused to let a trans boy be crowned prom king, even though the school’s teachers use male pronouns and his chosen name, Oak:
Assistant Superintendent Todd Geerlings told Wood TV, “The ballots gave two choices — vote for a boy for king and a girl for queen.
The comments on each article tell an interesting story, as well.
Continue reading 'Trans kids at school'»
One of the great things about living in Chicago is Early to Bed, a “sex-positive, women-oriented shop,” with a goal of being “staffed by people who take their sex toys seriously and are able to honestly answer questions about toys and sex in general.” (I feel particularly spoiled because they’re in walking distance of my apartment.) A few weeks ago, I responded to an open invitation they had on their blog, asking for sex toy reviewers. I was lucky enough to be selected, and today picked up my first toy for review: A Luxe Magic Massager.
Luxe Magic Massager, in all is luxe-ious glory.
My first impression of the Luxe Magic Massager didn’t blow me away. The packaging is certainly functional, but the picture on the front is slightly out of focus and the back contains clinical language about not using on “inflamed areas or skin lacerations” and a 30-day warranty which requires sending in a $12 money order for processing. The back also says “SOLD AS A NOVELTY ONLY,” which means the manufacturer is able to dodge laws restricting the sale of sex toys but, more importantly, is able to dodge listing the contents of the product. (And, sure enough, while the Luxe is “Assembled in the U.S. with pride,” it was made in China.)
Indeed, e2b recommends basically any soft-material sex toy other than silicone be used with a condom. Alas, the Luxe doesn’t say this on the box, so I’m saying it now: if you’re using this (or any other “novelty” toy), or are unsure of the toy’s material, use a condom! I’ll be honest, I’m a little less worried about this particular toy, because it won’t be going inside me or used on any skin with porous membranes, but for anal play I only use toys with condoms or well-washed silicone. (And now I’ll get off my soap box and on to the actual review!)
Continue reading 'Review: Luxe Magic Massager'»
A few months ago, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago opened a contest for a “month in the museum.” They would select one applicant to live in the museum, 24/7, for a full month and blog about their experience. It’s now down to five finalists, including a good friend of mine. If you have a spare moment, please vote for Kate, and tell your friends to do the same!
Last night, my roommate and I (with some other friends) decided to set up a tent on the roof and make s’mores over tea candles.
Smores. In a tent. On a roof.
It was quite a bit of fun. We sang camp songs, kept relighting the shitty tea candles, and made delicious s’mores. (Some even with Kit Kats! Yum! Peanut butter, chocolate, and Nutella, oh my!) For all that, my roommate made the foolish decision to try and sleep up there.
Tent on the roof
It was definitely tent-appropriate temperature, but it was starting to rain, was pretty windy, and we had no way to secure the tent stakes. So, about 30 minutes later, she came down and decided to pass at sleeping on the roof.
Sold my Nintendo DS and some games via Craigslist this evening. (I hadn’t played any of them in maybe six or eight months, and I decided I’d rather the money than an expensive paper weight.)
The guy I sold’ em to was a little difficult to deal with, because he was a constant texter and we had difficulty finding a time to meet. But I have now sold my DS and received $125 for the bundle, so I’m pretty pleased.
Except that I just got the following text:
Thank u very much for the games u know u r pretty
Craigslist: Buy and sell your stuff. To creeps.
(Inspired by Hyperbole and a Half.)
I fare pretty well at Urban Dictionary. Searching for Rebecca gives me this:
Obviously.
And this:
Also pretty nice
Indeed, all the definitions on the first page of results are pretty complimentary. But what about nicknames?
Continue reading 'Urban Dictionary'»
Comments (0) 
Themocracy