sundries

[rm]

Just got email about my 20th high school reunion. How is that even possible? On the survey about possible dates for it, it offered a list of check-boxes for why we might be attending including things like "reconnecting with friends" and "networking." I resisted saying something intolerably snarky in the "other" box.

If you are a New York resident wishing to contact your state senator about the possible gay marriage vote today, Empire State Pride Agenda makes it easy. Thanks regyt. You think, "hey, it's New York, this'll be easy." Wrong, aside from all sorts of weird state politics that this thing has gotten tangled up with, New York is actually a largely conservative state on social issues that just happens to have New York City (and apparently Albany and its environs) attached to it. And then there's this guy. In the Bronx.

jimhines has some interesting things to say about unconscious bias and the all-male Publisher's Weekly list.

via lipsum: AMA comes out against DADT.

Scalzi on why writers are often broke. I can't really emphasize enough how poorly most types of writing pay. Once you have multiple books out that you've earned out your advance on and are providing you with regular meager royalty checks, things start to get better, but do you know how hard it is to develop that sort of income stream? And how long it takes? And I say that as someone who doesn't have a lot stuff out there and still makes more dosh from writing than a lot of writers I know for a variety of weird reasons.

Deleted scene from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This! This is the universe as it lives in my heart. ETA: new working link

Last night, while in the midst of a very bizarre phone call and simultaneously cooking dinner, I accidentally stabbed my thumb with a knife. Today it hurts a tad.

Dude makes his garage cosplay PanAm.

It bugs me so much that journalists can't seem to figure out the difference between hijab, niqab and burqua.

Comments

[rm.livejournal.com]

The expectation that we're supposed to be grateful buddies to those who would judge us brutally and use faith as an excuse and shield, aggravates me beyond the telling of of it.

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Yes. This.

I've heard similar condescension from the anti-choice camp as well, and it's equally aggravating.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

That's pretty much what I was coming in to say - that it's amazing the number of people that get amazingly discriminated against because of religion. But it's supposed to be "okay" because it's "hate the sin, not the sinner"... except for the part that you're deeming something a sin and discriminating hard against what women do with their bodies and who and how gays can love.

That's the kind of friendship nobody needs.

[delchi.livejournal.com]

I have a hard time dealing with anyone who uses faith as a reason for what they do. It just squicks me for some reason.

I find that I can be on ok terms with people who have differing opinions so long as they are not extremist about them. Like some of my friends are anti abortion ( whereas I am pro choice ) but it never really gets to be a 'thing'. That is, they don't shake fetus jars and throw blood on me, and I don't beat them over the head and scream zealot at them. We accept each others position, listen to each other with respect and just happen to be on opposite sides of the coin.

In this case it's different - maybe the 'let's be friends , let's go to the movies ' was said with the intent to 'agree to disagree ' , but you just can't do that when you are attempting to legally restrict civil rights.

( Edit to explain what I meant by ' a thing ' )