rm | sundries

sundries

Elena Kagan has been nominated to the Supreme Court. She's Jewish. She's also widely speculated to be a lesbian. Any bets on just how unpleasant this confirmation process is going to be?

ebonypearl informs us that all the hair your cats (and other beasties) shed finally has a purpose: it can help clean up the oil spill!

Lena Horne has died.

Cynthia Nixon talks about life in the public eye and coming out.

From the art about death department: Clothes and a Claw.

Ten days in a carry-on. This is awesome. This is also harder if you wear men's clothes. Suit jackets say no.

While it makes sense that certain employees of any service provided should be able, under certain circumstances, to access locked and filtered posts, it looks like staffers at LJ have abused this privilege/tool and then subsequently refused to take the issue seriously. I have outrage fatigue.

ETA: Whatever happened there is clearly more ambiguous. A test done by the folks at Dreamwidth (which uses the same base code) says that what the user says happened couldn't have happened, which means that the ratio of code glitch/bad behavior appears to be different than the user who had the negative interaction with LJ staff (reasonably, considering history) assumed.

Don't forget

debsliverlovers. If you could boost the signal, that would be awesome.

We're back from Essex. And I no longer have the agonizing headache I woke up with on Sunday morning. Rule of the universe seems to be that no matter how comfortable seeming, if I'm not sleeping in my own bed, I'm in agonizing headache pain within 48 hours. It happened yesterday; it happened in London; it happened in LA. It really sucks, and I increasingly suspect it's whatever industrial cleaning stuff they use on hotel-room laundry. I may start packing my own pillows to see if that helps.

Essex, however, was awesome.

.

Essex, the town, was about what you'd expect - unbearably charming, ridiculously white; it has the most profitable Talbots in America. That should tell you everything you need to know. It was also a true experience in heteronormativity. Not once did I feel any hostility for being queer, but people not getting it (and being deeply puzzled by me in menswear at the ball, but too polite to inquire) was pretty high. But an excellent event, and we'd totally go again.

Over the weekend Patty and I managed to finish S2 of Angel and S5 of Buffy. For me, there's really no way to watch those without it being in dialogue with Torchwood: Children of Earth. And my, that's a clinical way to say "it made my hands itch and I felt like I had to get up and pace and NOT COMFORTABLE."

The Buffy side of that equation is particularly difficult to talk about without looking like an asshole. I mean, I get it, and you want Buffy to be a hero, and Buffy (unlike Jack) has her own life available to put on the line. But seriously, I've kinda got to be with Giles here -- everyone can die a horrible death, including Dawn OR Dawn can die. Of course, there was option C, which still involved a sacrifice, and I'm relieved we got through the episode without it being "everybody lives!" because there's a lot of value I think in showing that both options A and B fail.

As usual, it's sort of the Angel side of the equation where I live. Which is to say, Wesley being put in charge, and being incredibly solemn and grave about it. The episode kept hammering on that idea that if you try to get no one killed, you'll get everyone killed. And, because the performances are so good, instead of rewarding the audience with a sense of pride for agreeing with the pragmatism of it, it some how leaves you going "I really, really don't want that job, EVER."

Also in Buffy and Angel related news, I finished and submitted my essay on the subject, so hopefully that'll work out well. Now I've just got to focus on Bristol. Ugh.

Threaded | Flat

You do look fabulous in that picture. Although I'm not entirely sure how people could miss that you are a together: you look very much a couple here.

A couple of male friends spent *2 weeks* in Europe with only carry-on luggage. I should ask them to write up their packing list, but IIRC it involved:

- no full suits, everything has to be mix and match
- a willingness to pay for dry cleaning as you go
- a slightly wrinkled-on-purpose gay antique dealers look
- quick-drying underwear

Re. Buffy - I do love that finale very, very much, partly because it is Buffy The Hero nobly sacrificing herself, and, at the same time, she commits suicide. She leaves Dawn and her friends to 'do the hardest thing', because she can't carry that burden anymore.

And I ♥ Wesley.

(Also glad that you had a great time - you both look lovely!)

I may start packing my own pillows to see if that helps.

I think I've seen travel kits that include a pillow/pillowcase and single-layer "sleeping bag" made from microfibre, so I don't think you're alone in reacting to whatever super-brute detergent they use to clean hotel bedlinen.

That's a lovely pic.

Good grief about the LJ shenanigans. I've been AFK, so I missed this latest outrage.

Cynthia Nixon talks about life in the public eye and coming out.

She says she identifies as a lesbian for political reasons. Every time someone like her makes that decision, or someone like Joss Whedon has a character go from happily straight to exclusively lesbian with one relationship, it just continues the image of bisexuality as non-legitimate, and keeps bisexuals politically non-existent.

Any bets on just how unpleasant this confirmation process is going to be?

No takers. Moreover, the National Review is clutching its pearls over the news that, as a New York City resident, she didn't learn to drive until in her late 20s, and apparently she's still not a good driver.

I'm guessing that there are two main reasons why Whedon didn't use options A or B in that episode: 1) It shocks viewers more if Buffy dies, because they've been preparing themselves for Dawn's death or because she's the main character and main characters aren't traditionally supposed to die; 2) Her death is the fodder for several interesting subplots in the upcoming seasons. It also explains a lot of things that happen later. Don't worry, I won't spoil it for you. :-)

Then, of course, there's the whole part where Buffy has been rebelling against her life as a chosen slayer since she learned she was one - death was her only way out of it, and after never having much scholastic success in high school and having to sacrifice college - which she never ever dreamed possible for herself until she got there - I could see why she wouldn't look forward to a life of duty to everyone else but herself. However, despite these points, I definitely see yours as well. Dawn would not have been as terrible a loss because she wasn't the central figure in the story.

Oh, and that picture: I love you in that shirt especially. The collar is very flattering! You and Patty both look great.

You know I grew up in the town that birthed Talbots, right?

You two do indeed look great in that picture

I travel a lot, mainly for work and an trick with most men's clothes (at least for business) is A) ever hotel has an iron and B) socks and underwear can be washed in the sink easily. If you're traveling from place to place a lot, spend the $$$ and get quick-try travel stuff.

But suit jackets? Nope. Get one good sport jacket, wear it on the plane, or decide to do checked luggage.

That said, that link is still pretty awesome and I bet I'll get a few tips I hadn't thought of reading it.

If they were smart, Republicans would stay away from personal characteristics and just go with - she has no judicial experience. Then when someone points out that the Constitution makes no mention of judicial credientionals they can add 'well she clerked with a shameless liberal ergo, she must be one.'

But if that doesn't work I fully expect them to pull out her inability to drive (WTF), her 'mannishness' (I've already seen that on-line), her Jewishness, her EastCoasterness (and NewYorkishness). Because everyone knows that these things are disqualifying attributes for a Supreme Court justice.

I have this feeling that if Elena Kagan were really a lesbian, they wouldn't have nominated her.

Essex, however, was awesome. ( and of course we looked awesome )

Yes indeed you both do. In this picture you also also have a sort of male anime character sort of look that I haven't seen with you before.

Packing: Academichic (http://www.academichic.com) has some fairly useful guides to packing as well. Actually, perhaps more useful, because they tend to discuss outfits and how they can mix-and-match few items to make a complete wardrobe. They have lots of tips for different trips in the Taking Notes (http://www.academichic.com/taking-notes/) section.

No Checked Bags: 14 Days in 1 Carry-On (http://www.academichic.com/2009/12/23/academichic-travels-14-days-1-bag/)

No Checked Bags: 10 Days, 4 Countries, 1 Carry-On (http://www.academichic.com/2010/04/06/european-travels/)

Granted, it's also harder for larger people as well, since our clothes take up more space!

•Elena Kagan has been nominated to the Supreme Court. She's Jewish. She's also widely speculated to be a lesbian. Any bets on just how unpleasant this confirmation process is going to be?

No bets, because it's a sucker bet. But I am looking forward to Olberman and Stewart and especially Maddow. Ought to be a fun week for the punditry.

One anti-semitic word out of Limpballs, Blech, or any of their ilk and it may blow up in their faces. Maybe not. We can but hope.

I loved what Giles did at the end of five after Buffy left him with ben. Pragmatism.

I loved the Buffy S5 finale; I felt like Buffy's ultimate choice to sacrifice herself was built up to very well, especially in relation to all of Buffy's interactions with Spike throughout the season, regarding the relationship between Slayers and death. While I am glad there is a S6 and S7 of Buffy, because there are some excellent episodes in there, watching the S5 finale made me feel like, if it had ended there, I would have been happy.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing what you make of Season 6 -- there's some very interesting stuff in there.

Apropos of nothing, I had an AC question: is it just me or has the Assignment Desk been sparser than normal? I did "release" a topic instead of publish it, and it warned me that might affect my ability to claim them.

Threaded | Flat

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject