sundries

[rm]

54 years ago today Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat.

Today is also World AIDS Day. Everything xtricks says about the impact of AIDS on our global society is true. Meanwhile, South African President Zuma (a source of controversy on a pretty large number of issues), seems to be addressing the AIDS crisis there, a significant break from the delusional and deadly policies of the previous president, Thabo Mbeki.

An image of West Point cadets reading while waiting for President Obama to speak. I note that the cadet in the far right of the picture is reading Gates of Fire, which, in its final pages makes the assertion that's worth the entire book, which is that the opposite of love is fear.

I'm getting really sick of this world where we just redefine words and decide facts aren't facts because we don't like them. When you show up to a party uninvited, that's called crashing, whether you like it or not. This is true even if the party is at the White House and you are an aspiring reality TV star.

Did you guys see Maziar Bahari on the Daily Show last night? Riveting stuff. For those of you who don't know Bahari is a Newsweek journalist who was recently released from prison in Iran. Part of what landed him there was participating in a Daily Show segment.

The Land That Never Was: A New York Times photo essay on Dubai.

When it comes to finding a job, a college degree doesn't close the race gap.

My book on Amazon is currently listed with a 3 - 5 week ship time, which means you won't get it before Christmas. This shouldn't be the case, and we're working to fix it. However, if you need a copy for the holidays, you can also contact me directly or order from B&N.

Actors, now older, pose as the characters they once were. via fortysevenbteg.

The Berlin Wall has fallen but a forbidden zone lingers in the minds of deer.

Also in Deer News: One has apparently swum to Governors Island and is now in the process of being rescued.

I have received fabric swatches from Duchess Clothier for new shirts. This process mostly highlights how persnickety I am. I like the plum, but maybe the color is a little too bright. I like the more subdued plum, but I don't like the slight sheen to the cross-hatched pattern on it that only I would probably notice. I like the french blue, god do I like the french blue, but the fabric itself is so fine and delicate, and I never think of french blue that way (geez, I wonder why). I like the green and grey stripey thing, but how would I wear it? Not with a suit surely, I'd look like one of my old Italian relatives. Open at the nick with just slacks and maybe a waistcoat? Yeah, that would probably be awesome.... but really? Hrrrrr. Then there's the blue and white stripe, which in my head is way too casual for a suit unless I do it with white cuffs and collar, which would make a beautiful shirt, but yuck, so Wall Street. And then there's the white with the progressive blue pinstripes, and the swatch is just too small for me to tell. Really, the only thing I know is that I hate the red. I should just ask Seyta what she thinks. The peach pinstripe she steered me too last time was the one I was the least sure about and is now the one I like the most.

I've been having a lot of unpleasant dreams lately, all about pretty real-world things all involving my friends. In the end, we all always come out of the bad situation okay, but this is getting annoying. It's more real-world processing than I'm interested in remembering. Throw in stuff about fencing and Doctor Who fandom, and I'm apparently Working Out Some Issues.

Wow, someone just made a funny at me in email about the Warsaw pact. *Blink* My life is a bit odd.

Comments

[gement.livejournal.com]

Re dreams, you may take comfort in the fact that the one time you appeared in my dreams, you totally rocked. We were trying to survive a herd-them-into-the-cattle-cars alien invasion, and there was talk of involuntary breeding programs. I was concerned about your health issues and tried speaking up for you. You were, for obvious reasons, annoyed at me for this and trying to stay out of it, as calling attention to oneself is a bad way to survive an invasion.

As soon as our captor pulled a gun on me, though, you went totally fierce. You disarmed her, shot her in the face (thank you, Ask!Torchwood), and started piloting the flying car off into the urban landscape so we could join the Resistance. It was epic.

[dr-is-in.livejournal.com]

Don't know if you'd seen this. I know you are hopeful about S4 of TW (I am too), but I am disgusted by some fans behavior towards John this past weekend.

http://pirate-moose.livejournal.com/5807.html?thread=15279#t15279

[rm.livejournal.com]

*sigh* People have no grace.

[ciel-vert.livejournal.com]

I'm getting really sick of this world where we just redfine words and decide facts aren't facts because we don't like them.

As a rhetorician by training, this always particularly disturbs me. It annoys me that people like Frank Luntz have made this not only commonplace, but profitable as well. And people like Sarah Palin make it dangerous.

[smirnoffmule.livejournal.com]

Uch. Just... uch.

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

That photo set of actors is awesome!

The Schwarzenegger one made me giggle, and the Sam Neil one made me swoon. He is all sorts of pretty in that suit!

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

All I could think, looking at the photo set was "I'm so glad they didn't talk Harrison Ford into it. He really does look ready for that rocker at the Old Spacers' Home." (better tho' since he got his nose fixed a few years back. You can ony break one so many times, after all)

[(Anonymous)]

The Dubai photo essay is interesting but... Westerners have played their part in the boom and inevitable bust (everything passes - everything). There's a lot of misinformation around, including in the comments. Here's one truth: Dubai has no oil. Abu Dhabi has oil. And Abu Dhabi is buying up Dubai's debt. Abu Dhabi is less Westernised and more conservative (although not as conservative as at least one other Emirate). Change can happen swiftly in this part of the world. Keep watching. Note also that "photo" #2 in the showcase is actually an artist's rendition. That or they've magically erased all the people and all but one vehicle from the streets.

[nicoli-dominn.livejournal.com]

That article about race and job hunting is disturbing...sadly, though, not surprising. It also makes me wonder: if racism can be as subtle as some of the examples in that article, how many other kinds of discrimination are keeping people from getting hired, in this recession or in any other kind of economy?

Of course, me and my paranoia, I never know what's real and what's in my head anymore. But when I go to interview at places where all of the employees I see are white, thin, beautiful, and dressed in gender-schematic and style-conscious clothing...I definitely feel uncomfortable, and when I'm later trying to figure out why I never got a call back, or why I have an uneasy feeling about the interview even though everything seemed to go just fine, things like that still jump out at me with their little red flags.

Reading that article just makes me so angry at hiring managers everywhere. I have enough of a beef with most of them already, but adding racism to the mix? That really pisses me off.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I assume all sorts of things are at issue. I've been not hired for jobs because (as told to my headhunter), my hair was "unprofessional". At the time, my hair was curly and chin length, which meant I couldn't put it up. Height is frequently a huge factor in job acquisition for men (and this trickles down, I believe into biases against women). The weight thing seems as obvious to me as the race thing... and so forth and so on. And as a woman, it's a catch-22, if I look pretty, I will deal with salary negotiation designed to undervalue me. If I don't try to be as pleasing to men in the office as possible, I won't get hired. One of the oh so many reasons I've opted out into my wacky little life.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is such disgusting behaviour.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

The actor photo shoot made me happy!

The Zuma article; I'm really glad South Africa is finally being somewhat proactive, doing something. My uncle is a public health physician and he's been going crazy for the past decade with what the ANC government has done, the irrevocable damage Mbeki (the former PM) wreaked through the country.
It's said, and I certainly believe is, that South Africa has the highest percentage of HIV+ people on the planet and it has a lot to do with the ideas of sexuality there as well, bah, it's a really big big mess there. What xtricks wrote is very very true, that AIDS has had a huge impact of the destabilising of Africa as a continent.

[delchi.livejournal.com]

I learned first hand this week the joys of custom made shirts.

dreams

[kargashina.livejournal.com]

you were in my dreams a few nights ago.. which is odd since i dont know you irl.. there was a flooded house, a traveling party, and my landlord offering to move me into a converted bar while stuff got fixed.. the thing was i was so convinced it was real i couldn't wake up.