Yesterday we went to see the “star” of the family in her latest production. The last show she was in, we took my mother to and she had a blast, so this time we took her too. She is a good traveling companion, and we had fun.
However 300 miles plus, the ins and outs and romping with an 8yo nephew took its toll. It is always interesting to go to Chicago with my mother, she lived there for many years, but her recollections are somewhat dated. The hilarity of trying to find our way round town only paled when we all needed a bathroom break and hadn't a clue where to find one. Once we found a gas station, i stopped listening to the riders with the map, and we found what we were looking for.
Bagel and Barnum is its name, with a basket of bagels, bagel sticks, little onion buns. I knew i was in deep trouble. A meal of noshes was to follow, chopped liver, corned beef, lox and cream cheese, Nothing comparable around here, and oh so good. There is absolutely nothing like Jewish deli food.
The rain started as we drove back to take mom home, but it was not too bad. When we dropped her off, we had no clue that we were going to be bringing a car full of things home. My mother lives in a house that is so full of clutter there is barely room for her and her guy. Some of what she has is filled with memories, some is worth lots, some of no value other than the sentimental. It used to be that every time she came for a visit, she would have bags full of rummage sale goodies to leave for us. This time it was more “here, take this, here take that, do you want this?” Mom knows I value the sentiment more than the “value of things”, and would most often rather have her things loved than “valued”. I am such a sucker for sentiment and for cute little things.
So loaded with things, and a bucket of lily of the valley's, we drove another 90 minutes home in the wind and rain. And everything is still in the car as the wind howls and the rain pours.
It is a good day to stay wrapped in blankets and do NOTHING!
.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Friday, April 28, 2006
Drama
and the LGBT Community.
This is gonna make me craaaaaaazy!
OK, I know it is my choice to get involved. I honestly believe if you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem. That is part of the reason i volunteer. But i am getting sick and tired of the drama, and the issues and the politics.
I sit on the board of our local Pride celebration committee. Right now I have taken on about 4 parts of different positions where the person recruited has not carried there end of the of the responsibility out. No sweat, it needed to be done.
We have a vision. This year we want to present the things the world needs to see about us....so that it isn't so scary, so that LGBT does not strike fear in the hearts of the voters. We also envisioned a more wimmin and family friendly event (ours has been taken over by the bar crowd, mostly men for the last 7 or so years....not to diss them....they were willing to do the work).
All of a sudden, just a few months from the event itself, we have the beginnings of trouble afoot. The local DOB are having a fit because they will not be leading off the parade with their noisy cycles, the DQ are not happy because we ran a fair pageant for the first time in years and both King and Queen happen to be won by wimmin.
In its own way, it is typical of what happens in the wider community...the complaints come from the ones who do not vote, the trouble is created by the ones who do not do anything constructive (and most often don't do anything at all except cause trouble). But I have to tell you, it is pretty disheartening to be working your ass off to make something good happen and to get trashed by your own!
The next board meeting should be an interesting one.
This is gonna make me craaaaaaazy!
OK, I know it is my choice to get involved. I honestly believe if you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem. That is part of the reason i volunteer. But i am getting sick and tired of the drama, and the issues and the politics.
I sit on the board of our local Pride celebration committee. Right now I have taken on about 4 parts of different positions where the person recruited has not carried there end of the of the responsibility out. No sweat, it needed to be done.
We have a vision. This year we want to present the things the world needs to see about us....so that it isn't so scary, so that LGBT does not strike fear in the hearts of the voters. We also envisioned a more wimmin and family friendly event (ours has been taken over by the bar crowd, mostly men for the last 7 or so years....not to diss them....they were willing to do the work).
All of a sudden, just a few months from the event itself, we have the beginnings of trouble afoot. The local DOB are having a fit because they will not be leading off the parade with their noisy cycles, the DQ are not happy because we ran a fair pageant for the first time in years and both King and Queen happen to be won by wimmin.
In its own way, it is typical of what happens in the wider community...the complaints come from the ones who do not vote, the trouble is created by the ones who do not do anything constructive (and most often don't do anything at all except cause trouble). But I have to tell you, it is pretty disheartening to be working your ass off to make something good happen and to get trashed by your own!
The next board meeting should be an interesting one.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
PHOTO OVER KILL
It looks like I can upload photos direct from my desktop with this, but, I will have to do something about the size :).
The photo is of the lion statue and my precious grandbug, who turns five in less than a week!
Typing is a bit sluggish, but i am liking this program for the photos!
Powered by Qumana
Trying out a new posting program
Since I started blogging, I have tried a number of different tools to make blogging easier. Some have been simplistic, some overly complex and some way too expensive (i think spending anything to post into a free blog is too much). I even tried one of the for pay blogs and managed to get a 30 day trial without giving billing info. For the most part, I have stuck with what I have. This is a new program called Qumana. I like the fact that they have both Mac and PC version out at the same time.
I will probably play with a few of the options that my other program does not have, just to see if its really worth changing..
Right now i can see that it has a lot of formatting tools for text but does not have a way to change font size. But..... as you can see it does have a few options i enjoy.
Powered by Qumana
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Procrastination?
Supposedly I have all the time in the world. I have completed both of the contracts I was working, and now I have nothing to do. Or at least that is the logic. The reality is quite different.
Between all of the volunteer stuff, the odd jobs with the graphics business, and life as usual, I am more exhausted than if I were working a full time job. Sheesh
Today, I have designed a logo, a business card, billed 6 months worth of work, talked to 6 people about various things, scheduled 3 more things for tomorrow, i have a special events committee meeting, a book club meeting and ore website work before the night is thru.
STOP THE WORLD, I WANT TO GET OFF.
One of the things I looked forward to last summer when I quit the job from hell, was the time to do things around the house. Sunday, I went into my craft room to see still laid out all of the things I used to make Christmas gifts. The public spaces of the house are in good shape, but behind closed doors there are piles and piles of things that need to get organized. The stack of books on my night table just gets taller and deeper.
Every time I plan a day to just do my own thing....something comes up, something else needs to be done. or worse yet.....i am just too burnt out to do anything, so i just veg.
time for a change.
tomorrow.
Between all of the volunteer stuff, the odd jobs with the graphics business, and life as usual, I am more exhausted than if I were working a full time job. Sheesh
Today, I have designed a logo, a business card, billed 6 months worth of work, talked to 6 people about various things, scheduled 3 more things for tomorrow, i have a special events committee meeting, a book club meeting and ore website work before the night is thru.
STOP THE WORLD, I WANT TO GET OFF.
One of the things I looked forward to last summer when I quit the job from hell, was the time to do things around the house. Sunday, I went into my craft room to see still laid out all of the things I used to make Christmas gifts. The public spaces of the house are in good shape, but behind closed doors there are piles and piles of things that need to get organized. The stack of books on my night table just gets taller and deeper.
Every time I plan a day to just do my own thing....something comes up, something else needs to be done. or worse yet.....i am just too burnt out to do anything, so i just veg.
time for a change.
tomorrow.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Hail
We just had a thunderstorm....huge one.
The hail that landed on my back deck sounded like it was being shot from a cannon, and it was the size of tennis balls.
WOW. What a trip. Mother Nature is taking great pleasure in playing with all her options......
and the severe weather season is only just beginning.
The hail that landed on my back deck sounded like it was being shot from a cannon, and it was the size of tennis balls.
WOW. What a trip. Mother Nature is taking great pleasure in playing with all her options......
and the severe weather season is only just beginning.
Seder
It is always interesting for this adopted Jew to experience Seder.
The foods were delicious. Someone brought chopped liver (made only as someone with a jewish sensibility can make it, matzoh ball soup, and of course the gefilte fish, matzoh, both ashkanazi and sephardic charosets, turkey with falafel stuffing and a cranberry sauce, roasted asparagus, Wine, and many variations of grape juice are a part of any seder, and many many readings (more readings than plagues)
I love the food, and can follow most of the Hagaddah's story, until the Hebrew. and then beyond the basic prayers, I am completely lost.
But the food was great, the company was very enjoyable.
As a lover of tradition, getting to share in other peoples traditional events is always fun.
Till next year....
The foods were delicious. Someone brought chopped liver (made only as someone with a jewish sensibility can make it, matzoh ball soup, and of course the gefilte fish, matzoh, both ashkanazi and sephardic charosets, turkey with falafel stuffing and a cranberry sauce, roasted asparagus, Wine, and many variations of grape juice are a part of any seder, and many many readings (more readings than plagues)
I love the food, and can follow most of the Hagaddah's story, until the Hebrew. and then beyond the basic prayers, I am completely lost.
But the food was great, the company was very enjoyable.
As a lover of tradition, getting to share in other peoples traditional events is always fun.
Till next year....
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Gefilte fish
What is that, you ask?
its a fish dish traditionally served at the Jewish Seder, the most memorable of the year being the Passover Seder.
Gefilte fish, (Hebrew/Yiddish: געפילטע פיש) is a ground de-boned fish recipe using a variety of kosher fish meat that is then made into fish balls, popular with people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.
Formally, it is a type of quenelle, a delicately flavored patty made of lightly seasoned ground fish or white meat. Similar dishes exist in many cultures in local recipes bland or spicy, served plain or sauced, and cooked in simple broth.
I have just spend the afternoon making gefilte fish. This is the first time I have ever made it completely on my own. I have learned, over the last 16 years, how to make many traditional Jewish dishes, in the usual way, at the elbow of the Matriarch.
Gefilte fish is one of those things that sounds utterly gross when you tell someone about it. The first time I had it, I knew I loved it. It is kind of like the Jewish version of tuna fish, hold the mayo. But its all white fish and no pickle relish.
You start out by making a fish stock, basic....all the heads and skins and bones of the fish, salt and pepper, carrots, onions and celery. Cook until its stock, drain and strain. (thats the easy part, and it smells sooooo good). Next you take the fish...pike, perch, white fish, make sure all the skin and bones are gone, and chop it. Back in the day, it was chopped fine in a bowl with a big curved knife...these days its food processor time. Alternately chop the fish, a large yellow onion, and a couple of eggs. Mix with salt and a good handful (at least) of matzoh meal, but don't over mix, because the mixture needs to stay light. Then the messy part begins. You need to roll blobs of the fish mixture into balls and drop into the simmering stock. They are supposed to float and simmer for a few hours.
In my first attempt to make this alone, I am about half way through the bowl full of raw fish and still none of the previously rolled balls have floated. Panic begins. What if they don't float? What if they just explode into the broth turning into some kind of grotesque fish soup? But still, I am rolling fish balls and dropping them in to the broth.
Finally one small white spot rises out of the broth slightly, soon that one is joined by another, and another and, now i can breathe again.
Another culinary adventure survived.
The gefilte fish will accompany us to a friends for First Seder. On Sunday the plan is to attend an Easter brunch at the home of a community member.
May your Seder/Easter table be filled with friends and other loved ones, and good food.
its a fish dish traditionally served at the Jewish Seder, the most memorable of the year being the Passover Seder.
Gefilte fish, (Hebrew/Yiddish: געפילטע פיש) is a ground de-boned fish recipe using a variety of kosher fish meat that is then made into fish balls, popular with people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.
Formally, it is a type of quenelle, a delicately flavored patty made of lightly seasoned ground fish or white meat. Similar dishes exist in many cultures in local recipes bland or spicy, served plain or sauced, and cooked in simple broth.
I have just spend the afternoon making gefilte fish. This is the first time I have ever made it completely on my own. I have learned, over the last 16 years, how to make many traditional Jewish dishes, in the usual way, at the elbow of the Matriarch.
Gefilte fish is one of those things that sounds utterly gross when you tell someone about it. The first time I had it, I knew I loved it. It is kind of like the Jewish version of tuna fish, hold the mayo. But its all white fish and no pickle relish.
You start out by making a fish stock, basic....all the heads and skins and bones of the fish, salt and pepper, carrots, onions and celery. Cook until its stock, drain and strain. (thats the easy part, and it smells sooooo good). Next you take the fish...pike, perch, white fish, make sure all the skin and bones are gone, and chop it. Back in the day, it was chopped fine in a bowl with a big curved knife...these days its food processor time. Alternately chop the fish, a large yellow onion, and a couple of eggs. Mix with salt and a good handful (at least) of matzoh meal, but don't over mix, because the mixture needs to stay light. Then the messy part begins. You need to roll blobs of the fish mixture into balls and drop into the simmering stock. They are supposed to float and simmer for a few hours.
In my first attempt to make this alone, I am about half way through the bowl full of raw fish and still none of the previously rolled balls have floated. Panic begins. What if they don't float? What if they just explode into the broth turning into some kind of grotesque fish soup? But still, I am rolling fish balls and dropping them in to the broth.
Finally one small white spot rises out of the broth slightly, soon that one is joined by another, and another and, now i can breathe again.
Another culinary adventure survived.
The gefilte fish will accompany us to a friends for First Seder. On Sunday the plan is to attend an Easter brunch at the home of a community member.
May your Seder/Easter table be filled with friends and other loved ones, and good food.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
It's My Party
and I'll cry if I want to.
if you really want to cry, rent this movie.
It's My Party, is a 1996 release that few people seem to have heard of. We stumbled on it accidentally just after it was released into the video stores. It never fails that a few minutes into the movie, the sniffles, wet eyes and then all out tears occur.
is it great film, no. is it great acting, in some spots. Eric Robers and Gregory Harrison play the long time gay lovers. Roberts is diagnosed with AIDS and Harrison can't cope with the idea. Harrison runs away, has a fling with a much younger man, Roberts has a fling as well. But they really never stopped loving each other. When Roberts gets the word that his decline is imminent, he decides that its better to die early than to linger, but he wants to throw one last party.....see all his friends, say good bye and be done with it all. The dance between the two as they resolve their relationship, and the interplay of all the various points of view about the impending suicide with all of the friends and family, are funny and heartbreaking alternately and interwoven.
i read some of the reviews on the movies site, and as do all movies that make it to the general public (rather than the marginalized “LGBT films”) they all talk about this not being about gay love, or AIDS. I think that is just a way of justifying their watching a queer flick. If someone had wanted to do a film about assisted suicide, that would stand on its own. This film is about love, a disease that devastated a whole community of people, some of the more poignant moments of the movie were directly related to the gayness of it all. it makes me tired that people feel they have to redirect the realities of queer things to approve of them.
how sad is that?
if you really want to cry, rent this movie.
It's My Party, is a 1996 release that few people seem to have heard of. We stumbled on it accidentally just after it was released into the video stores. It never fails that a few minutes into the movie, the sniffles, wet eyes and then all out tears occur.
is it great film, no. is it great acting, in some spots. Eric Robers and Gregory Harrison play the long time gay lovers. Roberts is diagnosed with AIDS and Harrison can't cope with the idea. Harrison runs away, has a fling with a much younger man, Roberts has a fling as well. But they really never stopped loving each other. When Roberts gets the word that his decline is imminent, he decides that its better to die early than to linger, but he wants to throw one last party.....see all his friends, say good bye and be done with it all. The dance between the two as they resolve their relationship, and the interplay of all the various points of view about the impending suicide with all of the friends and family, are funny and heartbreaking alternately and interwoven.
i read some of the reviews on the movies site, and as do all movies that make it to the general public (rather than the marginalized “LGBT films”) they all talk about this not being about gay love, or AIDS. I think that is just a way of justifying their watching a queer flick. If someone had wanted to do a film about assisted suicide, that would stand on its own. This film is about love, a disease that devastated a whole community of people, some of the more poignant moments of the movie were directly related to the gayness of it all. it makes me tired that people feel they have to redirect the realities of queer things to approve of them.
how sad is that?
limitations....NOT
Getting older is becoming an annoyance.
not the actuality of getting older. I am fine with that, i have never had an issue with age because the numbers mean nothing.
What means something is that i am being limited. i am not ready to be limited.
I can still do what i need to do, when i need to do it, but the price i pay is getting steeper. it takes much more energy to do what needs to be done, the aches and pains are proportionally greater, it takes so much longer to recoup, so much more time to recover...
its just not right.
I spent my twenties dealing with pregnancies, infants and alcoholics, my thirties and fourties raising the infants to adulthood, supporting us all and then pushing them out of the nest.
This should be the time for me...the time for doing all the things that I couldn't do before.
No one every said that once i got here, being older would take so much energy.
This is going to take a major revision of plans....and i do not even know what the plans were.
not the actuality of getting older. I am fine with that, i have never had an issue with age because the numbers mean nothing.
What means something is that i am being limited. i am not ready to be limited.
I can still do what i need to do, when i need to do it, but the price i pay is getting steeper. it takes much more energy to do what needs to be done, the aches and pains are proportionally greater, it takes so much longer to recoup, so much more time to recover...
its just not right.
I spent my twenties dealing with pregnancies, infants and alcoholics, my thirties and fourties raising the infants to adulthood, supporting us all and then pushing them out of the nest.
This should be the time for me...the time for doing all the things that I couldn't do before.
No one every said that once i got here, being older would take so much energy.
This is going to take a major revision of plans....and i do not even know what the plans were.
what a week...end
this was the end of job 1.
the culminating event of the job was the Spring Clean-up....
A massive attempt to get as many volunteers together as possible and send them out to help clean up the debris from last summers tornados.
And everything went off with out a hitch....except for the number of actual volunteers that showed up. we had bitter wind preceded by heavy rain....and about 25 volunteers. the quantity of work did not equate to the quantity of volunteers ready to pitch in. However the quality was par none.
today was reserved for brunch with my dear friend, and we sit and eat and suck down coffee and talk, and talk and talk. the conversation goes from pets to friends to politics.
now i am about to take a break....veg and read a book.
the culminating event of the job was the Spring Clean-up....
A massive attempt to get as many volunteers together as possible and send them out to help clean up the debris from last summers tornados.
And everything went off with out a hitch....except for the number of actual volunteers that showed up. we had bitter wind preceded by heavy rain....and about 25 volunteers. the quantity of work did not equate to the quantity of volunteers ready to pitch in. However the quality was par none.
today was reserved for brunch with my dear friend, and we sit and eat and suck down coffee and talk, and talk and talk. the conversation goes from pets to friends to politics.
now i am about to take a break....veg and read a book.
a Public Service Announcement
So... how do you know if you,
a loved one,
or someone you know
is suffering from burnout?
Early warning signs
1. Chronic fatigue - exhaustion, tiredness, a sense of being physically run down.
2. Anger at those making demands.
3. Self-criticism for putting up with the demands.
4. Cynicism, negativity, and irritability.
5. A sense of being besieged.
6. Exploding easily at seemingly inconsequential things.
7. Frequent headaches and gastrointestinal disturbances.
8. Weight loss or gain.
9. Sleeplessness and depression.
10. Feelings of helplessness.
What to do for Burnout
1. Readjust priorities. Cast aside things that don't need your immediate attention.
2. Delegate more. Call in the cavalry to help with getting things done.
3. Invite more sensory and calming experiences like music, touch, rest.
4. Bring color and beauty into your world. Buy flowers, look at art, experience nature.
5. Exercise. Get those muscles moving and breathe, breathe, breathe.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
strange conflict
i have a very strange conflict on my hands at the moment....
this whole job thing is weighing heavily on me.
i am ambivalent about the job at best....i honestly believe that the board should be picking up the pieces of this and not having a paid “staffer” doing the committee organization. I honestly believe that it is poor stewardship of the funds donated to the organizations that are supporting the administrative work to continue to do this as a paid individual. I can not do it as a volunteer....they want way more from the position than they are clear about. They have talked it all out and think that it is what they want. but I can not do it.
but i am having great difficulty with the idea of handing it off to someone else. These people have come to know my name, there is a trust built up between us.
maybe that is just the control freak in me...not wanting to let go. and I don't, because it feels like the job is almost done...
this whole job thing is weighing heavily on me.
i am ambivalent about the job at best....i honestly believe that the board should be picking up the pieces of this and not having a paid “staffer” doing the committee organization. I honestly believe that it is poor stewardship of the funds donated to the organizations that are supporting the administrative work to continue to do this as a paid individual. I can not do it as a volunteer....they want way more from the position than they are clear about. They have talked it all out and think that it is what they want. but I can not do it.
but i am having great difficulty with the idea of handing it off to someone else. These people have come to know my name, there is a trust built up between us.
maybe that is just the control freak in me...not wanting to let go. and I don't, because it feels like the job is almost done...
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
details, details, details
today was a day of sitting on the computer from morning to night.
playing with photoshop, trying to draw.
this is a comedy of errors, because I have neither talent or skill. I have a relatively good eye, but for the most part what i do is a struggle.
this was trying to make a graphic representation of a sunroom. with a very specific customer breathing down my neck.
then after that it was time to vote, primaries and school board....which have since proved that my vote was like pissin in the wind
since then i made dinner (baked chicken and green beans, and new potatoes), and worked on the “vendor packets” ...
I seem to have picked up the vendor director role for our pride weekend, until the person who has the title is finished with her exams...
which meant making up all the plans and doing all the paperwork. [sigh] Did last year's director do the paperwork?
i suppose....somewhere along the line she must have, but there is no concrete proof. SO i get to re-do them. Not impossible, just a lot of typing.
I should go to bed....i have lots of phone calls to make tomorrow.
playing with photoshop, trying to draw.
this is a comedy of errors, because I have neither talent or skill. I have a relatively good eye, but for the most part what i do is a struggle.
this was trying to make a graphic representation of a sunroom. with a very specific customer breathing down my neck.
then after that it was time to vote, primaries and school board....which have since proved that my vote was like pissin in the wind
since then i made dinner (baked chicken and green beans, and new potatoes), and worked on the “vendor packets” ...
I seem to have picked up the vendor director role for our pride weekend, until the person who has the title is finished with her exams...
which meant making up all the plans and doing all the paperwork. [sigh] Did last year's director do the paperwork?
i suppose....somewhere along the line she must have, but there is no concrete proof. SO i get to re-do them. Not impossible, just a lot of typing.
I should go to bed....i have lots of phone calls to make tomorrow.
Monday, April 03, 2006
OUTRAGE
Badger Herald Defends Anti-Lesbian Cartoon
"It was a classic Badger Hearld cartoon that we had run in the past and we decided to re-run as part of our desire to give a variety of perspectives to our readership," stated Badger Herald Editor Mac Verstandig in regards to an anti-lesbian cartoon printed on March 24th titled Classic Comics: Wacky Fun Whitey by Benjamin Schwartz. "The Badger Herald doesn't necessarily endorse the point of view of the cartoon, but we believe it is our journalistic responsibility to print it," Verstandig added.
The cartoon at issue shows a figure, apparently intended to represent a male, with his fists striking at the air says, "Destroy Militant Lesbians!" In the second panel the male hits someone representing a militant lesbian; the male then says, "Eat Man!" to which the lesbian figure responds, "My Pride!" In the third panel the male figure kicks the lesbian in the face as he says, "Your message of sexual freedom is no match for my hurricane kick!" In the final frame the male figure wipes his hands off as he says, "I've at last settled my grudge against women--and without hurting my odds of getting a date!" A different male-appearing figure says, "And remember kids--Don't Drink and Drive!"
Many in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and women's community are appalled by the lack of sensitivity of this "editorial decision." Not only does it show that LGBT people are the last acceptable targets of discrimination in our society, but that it was a poor decision in light of the recent hate crimes at Ogg Hall and with Sexual Assault Awareness Month upon us.
To see the cartoon for yourself click on the following link:
Offensive Cartoon
"Why are lesbians still such an easy target?" asked OutReach Board President Bill Turner. "Would it be acceptable for the Badger Herald to run a cartoon saying 'Destroy militant black people'? Do they have a journalistic responsibility to perpetuate racism? If not, then why do they have a journalistic responsibility to perpetuate lesbophobia? At a time when the state legislature is declaring open season on lesbians and gay men, I think we can expect better from persons who fancy themselves defenders of any form of responsibility."
Kelly Anderson, Director of the Rape Crisis Center in Dane County, said, "Whether intended as satire or not, provoking laughs by bashing lesbians is just old-fashioned misogyny. With all we know about the prevalence of violence against women, who still thinks that it's funny to show a man punching and kicking a woman victim? The threat of physical or sexual assault is one tool used to keep women "in their place" -- and this cartoon just reinforces that threat."
"It was a classic Badger Hearld cartoon that we had run in the past and we decided to re-run as part of our desire to give a variety of perspectives to our readership," stated Badger Herald Editor Mac Verstandig in regards to an anti-lesbian cartoon printed on March 24th titled Classic Comics: Wacky Fun Whitey by Benjamin Schwartz. "The Badger Herald doesn't necessarily endorse the point of view of the cartoon, but we believe it is our journalistic responsibility to print it," Verstandig added.
The cartoon at issue shows a figure, apparently intended to represent a male, with his fists striking at the air says, "Destroy Militant Lesbians!" In the second panel the male hits someone representing a militant lesbian; the male then says, "Eat Man!" to which the lesbian figure responds, "My Pride!" In the third panel the male figure kicks the lesbian in the face as he says, "Your message of sexual freedom is no match for my hurricane kick!" In the final frame the male figure wipes his hands off as he says, "I've at last settled my grudge against women--and without hurting my odds of getting a date!" A different male-appearing figure says, "And remember kids--Don't Drink and Drive!"
Many in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and women's community are appalled by the lack of sensitivity of this "editorial decision." Not only does it show that LGBT people are the last acceptable targets of discrimination in our society, but that it was a poor decision in light of the recent hate crimes at Ogg Hall and with Sexual Assault Awareness Month upon us.
To see the cartoon for yourself click on the following link:
Offensive Cartoon
"Why are lesbians still such an easy target?" asked OutReach Board President Bill Turner. "Would it be acceptable for the Badger Herald to run a cartoon saying 'Destroy militant black people'? Do they have a journalistic responsibility to perpetuate racism? If not, then why do they have a journalistic responsibility to perpetuate lesbophobia? At a time when the state legislature is declaring open season on lesbians and gay men, I think we can expect better from persons who fancy themselves defenders of any form of responsibility."
Kelly Anderson, Director of the Rape Crisis Center in Dane County, said, "Whether intended as satire or not, provoking laughs by bashing lesbians is just old-fashioned misogyny. With all we know about the prevalence of violence against women, who still thinks that it's funny to show a man punching and kicking a woman victim? The threat of physical or sexual assault is one tool used to keep women "in their place" -- and this cartoon just reinforces that threat."
Sunday, April 02, 2006
discombobulated
that would be a good word to explain how I am feeling right now.
on the job front....on contract one: i have a week to go and one event and a crapload of paperwork to finish up. I have absolutely no desire to do the paperwork, and am not sure at all that the event will be successful. on contract two: i have the sense I am being strung out a bit, because there is a limit to the funds available and they want to hire a new director really soon.
there are lots of other projects around and about, dtp with the small one man firm, but he is very frenetic and not consistent enough for me to count on that as a viable option. A group of us have been talking around an LGBT Lifestyles Magazine...but those kinds of things cost lots of money, and have a very high failure rate...and then there is the idea of starting a non profit agency dedicated to providing advocacy for the LGBT community, a good idea, but....
then there is the overload of volunteer stuff i have bitten off.
what next?
on the job front....on contract one: i have a week to go and one event and a crapload of paperwork to finish up. I have absolutely no desire to do the paperwork, and am not sure at all that the event will be successful. on contract two: i have the sense I am being strung out a bit, because there is a limit to the funds available and they want to hire a new director really soon.
there are lots of other projects around and about, dtp with the small one man firm, but he is very frenetic and not consistent enough for me to count on that as a viable option. A group of us have been talking around an LGBT Lifestyles Magazine...but those kinds of things cost lots of money, and have a very high failure rate...and then there is the idea of starting a non profit agency dedicated to providing advocacy for the LGBT community, a good idea, but....
then there is the overload of volunteer stuff i have bitten off.
what next?
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