Okay, I did say I was going to bugger off until next week but several things led me to make the post.

First, HUZZAH on California oveturning the ban on same-sex marriages! Now, the LA Times has a Q&A on what happens next. The most important bit:

When will same-sex couples be able to marry?

The decision will take effect 30 days after it was issued. Los Angeles County and San Francisco officials are reviewing the decision and have not said when they will begin issuing licenses to same-sex couples.

Also, those who were married in San Francisco in 2004 will have to be re-marry. But finally, right?
And if you're interested in that sort of thing, Gary Newsom (aka Pimp Mayor of San Francisco) writes -- 'It Can Be Done'.

Secondly, Will Elder passed away. RIP.

Investor Carl Icahn launches proxy battle to remove the current Yahoo board members. Oh, this is going to be good.

Lastly, the Burma situation is really pissing the French off. The gist of it? They're trying to maneouvre the UN into entering Burma for humanitarian purposes. OHHHH shit, if that happens, it may mean a whole bunch of crazy shit exploding from China, India, the ASEAN nations, and the US. But props to the French for having the balls for even SAYING such an undiplomatic thing in public. They're absolutely right -- since when does sovereignty take precedence over human lives? If the UN and its members are serious about preventing another Darfur, Rwanda, Bosnia, then this is a very strong step towards that end. Unfortunately, breaking down that door will mean a lot of unexpected grief but I still have hope the right thing will prove to be the best.

Oh dear lord, I've just agreed with those supporting the invasion of Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein. I need a lie down.

I sniggered so loudly the dog next door whined. As I've said before, Smallville hurts my brain. Luckily, Superman II is on so's I can wash the WTF-ness of that show away. *sigh* Is there anything as wondrous as Margot Kidder's Lois Lane? Christopher Reeve will always be my Superman :D

BTW, life is kicking me down so I'm going to disappear for a while. Everyone have a good weekend!

There's a woeful shortage of Tommy Dorsey Orchestra videos on Youtube. Okay, okay, I know not a lot of people are fans of the big band sound these days. Because youtube is an amazing treasure trove for the obscure and sadly missed genres, I'm hoping this will be rectified soon.

Same goes for Tommy's brother, Jimmy Dorsey, and his outfit. I'm more familiar with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, which to me means the lovely Helen O'Connell and her gorgeous, jaw-dropping voice. While my favourite tune from her and the crew isn't up (Star Eyes, if anyone is keeping score), Rubber Dolly does a fair cop in introducing her style. I dare you not to grin when the song ends.

Came across this fantastic reference book, 'The Rough Guide to Shopping With a Conscience'. Ever wondered the difference between organic, Fairtrade, and eco-friendly? This is the guide for you. It also does a good job of explaining why it's a good idea to shop ethically, and includes plenty of links for further research. Best of all it's written factually, without sounding condescending; there is no push from the authors to pick a side, or follow every suggestion.

Where this guide stands out from other ethical lifestyle references I've browsed through is its section on money. Money matters are one of those difficult subjects to cover because it's filled with legalese, technical terms, and abundant mathematical figures that scare off the average punter. The guide covers a lot of ground, but does so in simple terms. Shareholder activism, mutual funds, credit unions, insurance, credit cards, all deciphered for the rest of us. The Rough Guide is definitely a valuable piece of information to keep at hand.

And now the Radio 4 links for the past week:

Costing The Earth - is raising free-range animals for food costing the environment?  And more surprising facts on dairy and meat.

In Business - How Michael Moritz became one of the premier venture capitalists in the world.

Unreliable Evidence - Litigants In Person, or the pros and cons of representing oneself in court

That's All Folks! The Mel Blanc story - the voice of numerous cartoon characters

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?  - the story of 1960s girl groups

Musical Migrants - series discovering people who have moved from their home countries to follow their musical aspirations

Sounding Post - where does the wood used to make our instruments come from?

British Jews & the Dream of Zion - Religious and secular Jews explain what Israel means to them today on its 60th anniversary

Grife, but I love Radio 4 :D

Thanks to parlance for the heads up: (United Farm Workers): One hundred plus farm workers evicted following news coverage.

That's right, once a news report on the plight of farm workers were broadcast, the company's representatives called sheriffs to evict the workers from the orchard they were practically squatting. Why were the workers in the orchard in the first place? Because when they arrived in California for the promised jobs, the accommodations never materialised. UFW has more.

The company involved: Kyle Mathison Orchards, part of Stemilt Growers Company.

This is just another reason to buy from your local farmers.

From The Guardian: Filmmaker Lisa F Jackson survived a terrifying sexual assault in New York. But she was still shocked by the tales women told her when she made a documentary about rape in the Congo.

The article goes briefly into her experience filming the documentary The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo (broadcast on HBO, also recently highlighted by parlance). She describes a sort of 'moral inversion' where the women raped are ashamed, but the men who commit these rapes are not. When Jackson sought out the rapists, one told her they were 'inducted' into rape -- it's the 'just following orders' rationale applied to intentional sexual assault. I've yet to see the programme myself, and want to hear the interviews and try to understand why the rapes are so brutal (victims as young as four years old), why so widespread, and why so ignored by the world. Given things the way it is right now, I shouldn't be surprised if there are no clear answers. Jackson, despite having her personal case highly publicized, never found her rapists prosecuted.

The title of this post comes from a quote by one of the detectives in New York's Sex Crimes Unit Jackson is trying to film. When his colleagues congratulated him on the promotion to Homicide, he replied he HAS been working homicide for the last 15 years, 'that's what rape is: murder of the mind.'

Today is the 86th World Red Cross Day. According the wikipedia page, in 1863 Henry Durant and 4 other Swiss men got together to create a committee and organise a conference to improve medical conditions in battle. Out of this success, the next year another conference yielded the first Geneva convention. For the first time, signatories from much of Europe agreed to guarantee certain conducts in war, including neutrality and protection for wounded soldiers. It took thirteen more years before the committee finally changed its name to International Committee of the Red Cross, and by then every country in Europe had their own national Red Cross society.

World Red Cross Day itself was created in the aftermath of World War I, according to American Red Cross's press release. The idea came about during a three-day truce in the Czech Republic during Easter for the promotion of peace. Eventually the organisation picked 8 May, the birthday of founder Durant, as the one time every year where 'the Red Cross would advocate for the relief of human suffering from disease and the humanity of seeing a world free from suffering due to war'.

I fully support those goals, but also feel the International Red Cross is hopelessly tainted by the scandals of its North American brethren. Remember when Elizabeth Dole, Bob Dole's wife, had a moment where she might run for President? Her qualifications were many, but what dazzled me at the time was her tenure as president of the American Red Cross. After I had enthused about the possibility of a female president and concluded Dole would be a great choice on a message board, someone privately messaged me to say her brother was HIV-positive because of the tainted blood the Red Cross had in its blood banks.

I have no clue if this was indeed true but other ugly details soon came out in the news. Under her watch, for instance, much of the language in the Red Cross AIDS program material was significantly toned down for political reasons. When she left, the Red Cross had a loss of $84 million due to a failed complicated cost-saving measure of its blood division and in one case, led to a lawsuit against a rival blood bank for stealing a trade secret (list of blood donor names). The Nation has a good writeup of Dole's hand in this.

The moment I stopped donating to the Red Cross was when I learnt $200 million out of $1.1 billion raised after 9/11 was saved for the organisation's future plans instead of for victims. I hadn't a job at the time, but managed a donation of $50 from selling my business textbook (original price x2.5). The news made me furious. If the fund is named 9/11, why was part of that going to the Red Cross itself? Then four years later, our neighbour to the north found out the Canadian Red Cross pled guilty to distributing contaminated blood supplies during the 1980s. Thousands have contracted HIV or Hepatitis C.

Charity is one of the human race's great virtues. But when you cannot trust a charity to help make it possible, it makes you extremely cynical towards making donations. I wish the International Red Cross good luck in trying to live up to its original expectations, and hope it can retain some of its lost credibility.

I gots me a job!!! YAAAAAAAAHHHHH!

The phone call took me completely by surprise. I was listening to news on Radio 4 when I answered. The person on the line asked for Kiley (me) and I just went 'Um... Yeah?' The entire conversation consisted of me repeating everything he said, trying hard not to faint, before eventually squeeing "I'M SO EXCITED NOM NOM NOM!!!' down the phone. Embarrassing. It was like a really awkward call after the first date.

Crap, now I have to go do laundry because I can't find my underwear. Yeah, yeah, TMI. Suck it, I have a job* XDDDDD

*Well, I still have to come in tomorrow and have papers ready, sign things blah blah blah

The Times estimates the death toll at 50,000 and millions made homeless. The Telegraph has disturbing news that the Junta executed prisoners after the cyclone hit. The Guardian reports Bush has pledged $3 million to Burma, and asks the Burmese authorities to allow foreign aid in. The LA Times reports on the desperate situation within the country and for the expats trying to reach loved ones back home. The BBC has footage of the aid finally trickling into Burma.

There are fears of starvation, disease, and lack of clean drinking water affecting the survivors. Please consider making donations at this Google page towards Unicef or Direct Relief International, or any of the large British charity and aid organisations through the Disasters Emergency Committee.

Title: Dress Up
Claim: General DCU
Characters/Pairing: Roy, Lian
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,497
Summary: Dress up has a beauty of its own
Disclaimer: DC owns my soul the characters
Prompt: Writer's Choice
Author's Notes/Warnings: Also written for shananagin's challenge May Is Crossdressing Month! Not beta-ed, so if ya catch any mistakes, let me know!

I was an unhappy, surly kid. I squirmed when people tried to touch me, glared angrily when others talked about my looks, and would bite anyone who attempted to pat my head. On my sister's 6th birthday, after a getting into a fight with two older boys at the party who talked trash, my mother yanked me to a corner and snarled this was the reason why I have no friends.

Flash forward 15 years. When I'm at my lowest and feel no one cares for what I have to say or what will happen to me, I get a sweet message in my inbox wishing me all the best in my job search and reminding me she loves me. We may have our big differences; I'm unhappy with her take on racial politics, she's gets upset when I bring up criticism of China, but we always have each other's back. And in the end, it's the act of kindness that counts, not rhetoric.

So call a friend, and show your appreciation :)

In Year 9, our history class were split into debating groups for a day. My group was assigned to represent Ancient Sparta, and to engage with the Ancient Athenians in spirited arguments on which society was superior. Unlike other debates we were not given any extra time to prepare our statements and had to come up with speeches on the spot. The other group had concentrated on emphasising Athen's cultural superiority over their admittedly barbaric-seeming neighbours. Most of my group had resorted to threatening the Athenians with war in their speeches. If 300 had been out at that time, I'm pretty sure our guys would have ripped their shirts open and beat their chest, such strongly was the testosterone in the room. I was second to last and delivered a short speech on the importance of military might over political will (haha!), reminding the Athenians there were Spartan spies in their midst for their own benefit. Scary, huh?

Anyway once everyone had a go, our teacher decided instead of allowing each group to give a rebuttal each we were allowed to take turns to say anything within 60 seconds. For all the wannabe debate moderators out there, this is a BAD idea. Right from the get go the verbal swipes were vicious. Athenians are hypocritical imperialists concerned only with trade and care not for Greeks. Spartans are aggressive animals that deserve to be wiped out by the Persians. Just before it descended into a fist fight, I spoke up for the Spartan women and sneered that we could go out of the house without a chaperon and with no fear of being molested. There were appreciative whoops from the audience, and a shamefaced opposition whose only answer was a hand reaching for my throat.

How flippin' sad that I can't say the same for today. Cripes. I would love to walk around LA without constantly running into someone wolf-whistling or catcalling. It's not a cultural thing, please don't give me that line. I've been catcalled and eyeballed like a piece of meat in white bread suburbia, Chinatown,  in the financial district of Downtown LA, and even the beach cities. Here, every time I walk to the shops or the post office I have to bring along my mp3 player or try my best to avoid the calls.

If it isn't random whistles, it's the scary drive-by leer (when the car slows down so the driver won't have to take his eyes off you, even if he has to look over his shoulder to do so), or the truly stupid shouts. Today within a 15 minute walk I had four catcalls. Four! Some young blond guy had the gumption to lean his entire head out the window of his pickup and yell 'WHOO, BABY! BAD GIRL!' while the light was still green. I watched in alarm as he tried to swerve in order to avoid hitting the center divider.  Mind you, I was wearing a long sleeved dark shirt and dark baggy jeans. Just exactly what part of me was a bad girl?

It really makes me think all men are scum, it really does. They may think its funny or appreciative to make lustful glances in this way, but it's upsetting. One year when I was waiting for a friend to pick me up, a jeep drove by with three college-aged guys who asked how much I was charging as a ho. There is no end to my embarrassment and humiliation at being singled out by a bunch of stupid men in this way. You would think someone would have taught them better. And at the end of it all, I feel incredibly confused and guilty. Why me? What did I do to deserve this sort of attention? No one needs to feel as if they exist for the sole purpose of entertaining men and I'm sick of it.

But what can we do, other than teach our brothers, cousins, nephews, friends not to perpetuate this behaviour? What can I do that will get the message across that I do not want to be part of this anymore? Where can I move to in order not be bombarded by the disgusting leers? Or should I just accept it as another unfair part of life and try my best to pretend it doesn't exist?

I can't believe how soon it's May! It seemed only a few days ago that I decided to enter Script Frenzy. How did things end up by the end of April?

Well, Script Frenzy was shelved indefinitely because of the job searching. It's disappointing there hasn't been a solid opportunity yet, but I have two interviews this week and can hope things settle soon. Also in April I managed to write three pieces of fanfiction -- even if I wasn't entirely sure of its quality, it certainly sparked a confidence in my writing I hadn't had in a long while. Another first was attending this year's May Day, an experience I was proud to be a part of.

No link roundup for this week, as I hadn't been online much to get a good grasp on the goingson. However, I will recommend the stories of tonight's 60 Minutes program:

- Project Innocence in Texas working to free wrongly convicted prisoners; their latest success is the release of man held behind bars for 27 years
- Pat Tillman's mother alleging a coverup of the former NFL star's death in Afghanistan by the US army
- Paul Farmer, a doctor who doesn't just believe healthcare is a fundamental right, he actually strives to make it possible in Haiti and Rwanda

Oh and before I forget I had a lovely haul from Free Comic Book Day :D In addition to the 5 free comics I was allowed to pick up (3 usually, 5 if you're a member of the store) I also bought 2 issues of Nexus. I've developed a taste for Steve Rude's artwork ever since I picked up the Nexus/Badger crossover out of a bundle of miscellaneous comics ($3.95 for 20 issues). Sal was shocked at the inappropriate amount I've dropped on comics (admittedly only from the $1 bin), but it's really a tradeoff between eating and reading. And I do not regret choosing the latter.

Don't worry, I'm still eating. I found a bottle of Texas BBQ sauce in the pantry yesterday and added it to a dish of pasta and lentils. Blech. Give me Kansas City BBQ sauce anyday!

I'm absolutely knackered with blisters and haven't eaten anything other than mini-wheat bagels all day. Would you believe I nearly missed the beginning of today's Full Rights For Immigrants rally? The weather was boiling, and I was happily eating an ice cream when the Rite Aid worker pointed out the time. A jaunt to a couple of blocks over at Olympic and Broadway (aka my favourite Downtown place for a falafel) later, I found the mass of marchers and quickly took photos.


The pictures from the May Day rally are here at Flickr.

BTW, some bad news: I didn't get that job after all :(

Ganked from ldragoon : Skirt Chasers: Why the Media Depicts the Trans Revolution in Lipstick and Heels by Julia Serano.

Very well-written pieces on transgenderism. The one that got me to smack my forehead was the women-born-only policies and the arguments supporting them (negative male energy, I kid you not). And it really gets me upset that others would treat them as freaks of nature, because they're somehow 'unnatural'.

Bryan Sykes' Adam's Curse is what truly made me believe gender is more complicated than XX and XY. Researchers have found men with XX chromosomes. This seems unlikely, as males have XY and women XX chromosomes. As it turns out, these XX men have only tiny segments of the missing Y chromosome. It's enough for the maleness genes of these individuals to be switched on. And it's enough for me to believe when someone says they feel trapped in the wrong gender.

Serano also states:

It is no longer enough for feminism to fight solely for the rights of those born female. While that strategy has furthered the prospects of many women over the years, it now bumps up against a glass ceiling that is partly of its own making. For while the movement worked hard to encourage women to enter into previously male-dominated areas of life, many feminists have been ambivalent at best, and resistant at worst, to the idea of men expressing or exhibiting feminine traits and moving into certain traditionally female realms. And while we credit previous feminist movements for helping to create a society where most sensible people would agree with the statement “women are men’s equals”, we lament the fact that we remain light years away from being able to say that most people believe that femininity is masculinity’s equal.

Oh, I'd love to see that. But seeing how these days feminists are busy fighting amongst their own, I don't know how successful this push will be.

Oh, I wished I brought along the camera.

The heat's absolutely boiling, but I hardly noticed; too busy staring at the undulating waves melting before reaching the beachgoers. It was half an hour past 1, and most of the surfers were packing up to leave. I congratulated myself on picking the primo spot for cute surfer-guy watching and sat back in the driver's seat, waiting until it was time for my interview.

How incredible it must be to work so close to the beach, I lazily thought, enjoying the cool breeze. Imagine being able to have your lunch at the seaside. And about 20 minutes from home! I could, for the first time in ages, take the bus or even bicycle to work!

Such a rosy future I managed to dream up. Working for a little over minimum wage, enjoying interacting with the friendly beachfolk, maybe even learning to surf myself. Unfortunately, this was just a fantasy. Who knows if I can make a life out of this.

The interview went well, although I managed to stick my foot in my mouth. At the end of the interview, I wasn't sure exactly what position the lovely manager was hoping to settle me into. I confided this to the interviewer and assured her I would be willing to work from the bottom. She agreed, dropped the plans for a fourth interview, and basically announced I was hired. Tomorrow I'll be receiving a call with more information on wages and hours.

I was gobsmacked. And more than a little angry at myself. Not that I was lying, I really am interested and could really use the money now, but feel a bit like selling myself short. Why the entry-level instead of the supervisory position? *smacks forehead*

I have another interview tomorrow afternoon with a corporation looking for office drones. In fact, it has a mention in the Rip Off report. I'm definitely going to turn it down, but I'm going to enjoy the interviewer process. Need all the practice I can get. In my last job I barely spoke. The lack of practice has meant I constantly use the incorrect/similar sounding words to say what I mean... what's the term for it? Like the use of 'presently', when I mean 'currently'.

No matter. I can't wait to start at a place where I'm not dreading the work or the people, or dedicate 15 hours of a day to making sure things are run smoothly without any recognition at all. Let's hope it's as good as I dream it is :D

I was hoping to post some tidbits from today's LA Times Festival of Books panel with Mike Mignola and Jeph Loeb, but the bus was late and I missed it entirely. Boo.

You know when that innocuous object in your hand upon closer observation becomes a very, very icky thing? Happens quite a bit to me, but I try to close my eyes and eat it anyway; three second rule is ALWAYS applicable with candy. But yesterday, when I was out of reading material for the loo I found an issue of Wired mag and this ad for Belvedere vodka.

Now I'm sure this has already been covered by the feminist blogs, but I gotta have my two cents about this.

Terry Pratchett's turning 60 next Monday (28 April) and BBC 7 is celebrating with several programmes (here). Pratchett's Discworld novels are always a good read and I will admit to having a thing for Captain Carrot (until I met the real thing, and that's another story). This time listeners are treated to adaptations of Mort, Small Gods, and The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (with David Tennant). Also available at the BBC 7 page are snippets of Pratchett's interview on topics such as fan fiction and puns. Definitely something to look forward to this weekend :D

Oh and those in LA, don't forget the book festival at UCLA this Saturday and Sunday!

Title: Poetry's For Dorks
Claim: General DCU
Characters/Pairing: Impulse, Secret, Robin, Superboy
Rating: Gimme a G!
Word Count: 750
Prompt: Limerick (T15, P56)
Summary: Secret finds a book of poetry.
Disclaimer: DC owns my soul the characters
Author's Notes/Warnings: I really, really miss YJ.  So I thought I'd write this little fic. In case you don't know which limerick I'm referring to, it's the obscene one here. No actual swears in the fic, though :D