sundries

[rm]

I got sicker than I ever have from a gluten-related incident last night. It ruined some nice plans we had, and I'm completely intolerable when my stomach is disturbed because I get really tense and phobic about throwing up and it was all just horrible. I think I've narrowed it down to "natural flavors" in the broth in the pre-cooked chicken I used in the dinner last night. I risk things like that on occasion because 99% of the time it's fine, but every once in a while not so much. Of course, it could also be a cross-contamination issue in something else or a mislabeling issue, and that's what I really hate -- not having to give up gluten, but the uncertainty and living in a country where gluten is not considered one of the major allergens and therefore doesn't have to be warned for on products (wheat does, but not all gluten sources are wheat). Anyway, I'm feeling better, but I'm upset about it.

Can we talk about the Elena Kagan confirmation hearings for a moment? I don't know if she's gay, but regardless of whether she is or not, a lot of the talk and action surrounding her confirmation smacks of queer erasure to me, and it makes me uncomfortable.

On the one hand, sure, when you suddenly get thrust into the national spotlight for a tricky job interview, you get counseled on what to wear, how to sit, how to inflect -- all that stuff. I get it, because jeez, I used to work in PR, I used to be the one coaching people on stuff like that; and it's not like working in front of the camera from time to time doesn't make me perfectly aware of it as well.

But on the other hand, the fear of the queer is so strong in response to Kagan we've faced coverage in the Washington Post of her sitting habits, a bizarre ramble from Elliott Spitzer on his recollection that she dated men he knew in law school (which proves what, exactly? and why is anyone letting Elliott Spitzer talk about this?), and repeated assurances from the White House that she's heterosexual. Now she has a cute haircut, vibrant suits and enough makeup on that she looks like a different person.

Regardless of what Kagan's orientation may be, the public presentation of her by others have been strongly focused on two messages: 1. "There are no queers here." and 2. "This woman wants to please you." Regardless of how any of this may reflect on Kagan's identity regardless of sexual orientation and to what degree she has colluded in all this as an arguably necessary pragmatic act to ensure her confirmation, what's happening here is queer erasure, even if it is merely of a conceptual queer presence that may or may not exist in these circumstances, and it sends a completely horrible message to anyone paying attention about women, queer identities, intellect and public performance.

A federal judge has agreed to hear a case brought by the Log Cabin Republicans challenging the constitutionality of DADT.

I'm starting to see more than a few articles about gay couples marrying in equality states, using their marriage licenses to get name changes with the Social Security Administration and then being denied name changes with their non-equality state DMVs when presenting those same documents. This should spawn a mess of court cases from all sides, because having inconsistent documentation is a nightmare, the states prohibiting the name changes are either in violation of their own laws on the issue or have laws whose constitutionality could be challenged, and I suspect that anti-gay orgs will also say that the SSA name changes violate DOMA. Anyone with actual law skills want to weigh in on what strikes me as an obvious clusterfuck?

Mayor Bloomberg promised us more diversity in city government. Yet of 9 new appointments, all are white and 8 are men.

India's Right to Know law allows people to file inquiries on pretty much any task the government is supposed to be doing. When those inquiries are filed, a funny thing tends to happen -- the problem in question tends to get solved.

OMG, have you heard about the Russian spy ring?

Anyone seen the trailer for the new Harry Potter movie? Really takes its visual cues from the LOTR trailers, doesn't it?

Patty and I hope to be back to Buffy and Angel tonight.

Got my WIAD (in my head, still need to write it) sorted out, am thinking about taking a look at that Jack/Alonso fic again to see if I can finish it, pondering my kink_bingo card and wondering if I really can map out a hardcore yet plotty, plotty Jack/Ianto BDSM fic that does something the other people who have gone there haven't done before (answer: hazy, try again later; although I do know the first line of it if I do it).

There is a Torchwood fandom auction still running for dr_is_in, who could really use your help. This does not follow the usual fandom auction format and is all in one post, so if interested make sure you take a look at how they are running it, lest you be confused.

Bristol is RSN, and I feel really serene about it (not that I've received the packet of all the papers yet or done my response to the academic I'm paired with yet). My paper is good, my sense of emotional attachment to the entire matter is compartmentalized, and I feel really strong about it. I'm debating if this means I get the tangentally-related tattoo now or when I get the thing published.

Meanwhile, I am seriously trying to resist this dress from Gilt, which can be styled 8 different ways. I don't wear dresses that often, but this is pretty much perfect for me. Speaking of dresses, the dress that's mentally my "Jack in drag" dress just arrived. Mailroom guy gave me a sketchy look over the return address: Trashy Diva is not a sex shop, yeesh!

Comments

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

it sends a completely horrible message to anyone paying attention about women, queer identities, intellect and public performance.

So agreed. I'd love to hear more about her capacities as a jurist, but the peanut-gallery of the media seems to be mostly interested in whether she's a 'real woman'.

I believe sparkindarkness was pointing out earlier that judges once had to be married - the fear of Teh Queer was that strong.

[rm.livejournal.com]

One could also argue (and I know nothing about this, AT ALL, so I'm just talking out of my ass here), that the requirement for justices to be married may have been because of marriage as supposed security against a judges impartiality being sexually suborned.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Ah, good point.

[hab318princess.livejournal.com]

Hope you feel better soon, it sounds miserable

That link to India's right to know... I hadn't heard about that, so thanks :D

HP Trailer - that's what it reminded me of... I watched it, thought it reminded me of something and then put it into words!

[dr-is-in.livejournal.com]

I want to be enthusiastic about Deathly Hallows with them being smart and splitting it into 2 movies. But they've screwed up the storyline of the movies since the 3rd movie so badly, I fear this will be just as bad.

Wish we had that right-to-know law here in the US...maybe it would shorten the amount of paperwork and redtape in trying to get assistance.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

So, speaking of gay couples in anti-equality states, have you seen the stories about the Texas judge who granted a lesbian couple a divorce, only to have the Texas AG step in and say that's not allowed?

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you felt so sick!

I'm slightly stalled on kink_bingo at the moment. I began writing one and it turned into something else entirely.

mmm ...

[lather2002.livejournal.com]

Kagan's sexual preferences, lifestyle, orientation, gender, ect ... should have no bearing on her ability to be a Supreme Court Justice as long as it does not interfere with her following the U S Constitution and she does not *"create/make laws", try and cite foreign/non U S laws as a guide and/or twist the actual meaning of the Constitution to suite her personal feelings and/or political agenda. The U S Constitution is not a "Living Breathing Document". It is more or less clear in it's words as to what it means and allows. Just my opinion (among many, haha).

*That is the responsibility and role of the U S Congress, unless any such laws are Un-Constitutional, it is then the duty and role of the Supreme Court to cite them as such, duh. And the Constitution has the ability to be changed, as well, by the process of Amendments.

For the record, this comment is off the cuff and as such, it is what it is. ';=p

[p-zeitgeist.livejournal.com]

I realize I'm something of a minority voice here, but I really, really hate all this fuss over Kagan's private life. She, presumably, has had something to say about all of this, ever since at least law school (and anyone graduating from one of the top-tier law schools knows that she's entered a system that can lead to high government office, either in very publicly-visible positions or in quiet behind-the-scenes policy-making positions). There is approximately zero possibility that she hasn't thought about the issue and made her own decision about it.

I don't care whether she's gay. I do care about people carrying on about whether she is or not: I know that for some people sexual orientation is an identity (to use the dreadful and imprecise buzz-word du jour), but it isn't for everyone, and it troubles me to see what amounts to a demand that sexual orientation be made into a flag and waved about in situations like this. And it troubles me especially when the demand is made of women, precisely because of the millennia of cultural insistence that sexuality is and must be the most important thing about any woman.

Don't get me wrong here: I'd still much rather have seen Pam Karlan nominated for the spot. But I'm finding that I like Kagan better for her long history of having no private life anywhere the public could see it, and her refusal to drag one into the light now. And if the White House is following her lead on this rather than vice versa, I like them better for it too.

-- Oh, and the Spitzer thing? Is weird as hell, but it happened because of the demands from people like Andrew Sullivan for testimony beyond the administration's simple and not-terribly-publicized response that she's straight when asked about it early in the process. (Bizarrely, Sully started up with his table-pounding something like a week after the question had been asked and answered, and his table-pounding consisted, at least initially, of "Why won't the administration answer this burning question?") Kagan has friends, and reporters managed to reach some of them for comment, that's all.

[marchek.livejournal.com]

Meanwhile, I am seriously trying to resist this dress from Gilt, which can be styled 8 different ways.
I'm trying resist the urge to buy the TARDIS-like luggage they've got on sale right now.

Speaking of dresses, the dress that's mentally my "Jack in drag" dress just arrived.
Which one did you end up buying? I'm still strongly considering one of the blue-dotted ones and want to make sure we don't end up with the same dress.

[rm.livejournal.com]

The one with the red belt.

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

I am hopeful for the HP movie, though not really hopeful, since Cuarón isn't the director, and I haven't enjoyed any of the other movies nearly as much as I enjoyed Azkaban. I don't think any of the others has improved upon the story as much as that one did (and I still want to hunt down the person who ruined the ending line of Goblet of Fire, lock him in a room with Peter Jackson, and bury them in volumes of Shakespeare).

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

why is anyone letting Elliott Spitzer talk about this?

Why is anyone letting Elliot Spitzer talk about anything these days, much less this?

I am in complete agreement about the erasure. It's depressing.

[bizetsy.livejournal.com]

I've seen you mention before that you feel like your round-up posts are something that a lot of people do. If I may: I find them helpful and enlightening. You have so many interests in common with me, and you are so adept at scanning the Net for news stories that are important--not just to me and you, but to many who read LJ and might not have the skills you do (or some other factor?) to access these important data. I know you don't know me, so my opinion is probably not that important, and I understand that. But, just in case, I still want to say thank you, for the above mentioned reasons.

[rm.livejournal.com]

My desk job involves reading an ungodly amount of global news daily, so while many of my links here don't come from that, I'm sort of always in news aggregation mode. I'm glad people find it helpful and differentiated from others who do the same. I'm hoping to start this week trying to make sure I do one essay sort of post a week -- I've dropped off with that for a variety of reasons, but figure i can make it happen without exploding either my schedule or my ability to cope.

[bizetsy.livejournal.com]

I know readers can be demanding, and we who are empathetic can get burned out by putting others before themselves, so yes, please do prioritize your needs. I hear you on wanting to keep your longer/more demanding writing skills fresh. Good luck with this adjustment to your balance. You seem to handle it so well; I admire you for that, to be sure.

I hope you have a good day!

[dr-is-in.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your help in promoting the auction. It's brought in about 1/4 of whats needed, which will help. I know you are really busy lately, so its greatly appreciated.

[citrinesunset.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear you were sick. I hope you're doing better.

wondering if I really can map out a hardcore yet plotty, plotty Jack/Ianto BDSM fic that does something the other people who have gone there haven't done before

Do it! It'd be awesome! And you'd probably have better luck with it than I would. *is currently stalled on a kink_bingo fic*

[alba17.livejournal.com]

I can't decide how I feel about the Kagan issue. Part of me feels like you do and part of me feels like the commenter above. I think Eliot Spitzer just doesn't know how to shut up about anything. That WAS a bizarre comment from him and it sure got a lot of press. It was kind of disgusting. And besides, based on my own personal experience, dating men in law school is no guarantee of future straightness, LOL. Or vice versa.

As far as legal gay marriages and name changes: this is the natural result of same-sex marriage being legal in some states and not others and not sanctioned by federal law. This is why traditional marriages carry over from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, to avoid such problems. I'm sure there will be many such ramifications and there will be lots of lawsuits. Nothing is going to change until DOMA is repealed or declared unconstitutional.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I actually disagree with the commenters you reference. I don't care what Kagan's orientation is, rather that so many people, including her, are responding to a perception of it as if that perception was a threat or an insult.

[alba17.livejournal.com]

Yes! It's extremely offensive. e.g. the way the White House initially reacted. :(

[fireflygirl.livejournal.com]

I'm also celiac and recently discovered that I can't tolerate xanthan gum either, which is in almost everything. I thought I was getting cross-contaminated somehow from gf flour mixes (most of which have xanthan in them), but it turned out to be the fucking xanthan gum: http://www.celiac.com/articles/21710/1/Could-Xanthan-Gum-Sensitivity-be-Complicating-your-Celiac-Disease-Recovery/Page1.html

Of course, you may not have eaten anything xanthan gum related and it was the 'natural flavorings' or cross-contamination as you pointed out. Anyway, I hope you feel better. There's really nothing worse on both you and your partner than the GI hell. My partner is even more vigilant than I am because it's a nightmare for both of us.

[rinkori.livejournal.com]

Name changes between the state and federal level are just a clusterfuck in general. IIRC although many states don't allow trans people to change their birth certificates' name and/or sex, you can in some cases work around that by changing your drivers' license (state) and using that to change your passport or SS card (federal). But you still have a birth certificate that doesn't match up with everything else. Holy asinine red tape, Batman!

[fitfool.livejournal.com]

I seem to be running into more and more people with at least gluten sensitivities if not full allergies to gluten. Really annoying that they don't identify whether or not there's gluten in a product. I was surprised to learn how acute some reactions to gluten were for some people.

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

Gilt link is pw-only, and now I am dying to know which Trashy Diva dress you got.

And I'm sorry you got so sick!

[rm.livejournal.com]

Register! It's free.

And I got the Sadie.