shirtlifterbear | Recent Entries

This?

May be the cutest Pieta EVER.

Here's the direct link if it doesn't load here on LJ, which is being all kinds of funky today.

http://yfrog.com/z/kelg6isj

Now, far be it from me to deny my inner nerdiness, but coming out about this particular topic is rough:

I have over a thousand roleplaying books.

Dungeons and Dragons, more White Wolf than you can shake a stake at, even *shudder* a ton of Rifts.

That's not the nerdy part.

I reread them. Often.

*blush*

I was given the huge boxed sets of Planescape for Xmas 1995 by the players in my game, and I am spending this fine Friday evening looking at maps of imaginary places, reading descriptions of outer-planar monsters and outrageous characters, and immersing myself in the unique tone and feel of the campaign setting. The writers chose to incorporate terms from 18th Century Thieves Cant, and it's remarkably unique:

"Don't get peeled, berk, you don't know the dark of it!"

*BLISS*

Non-paying hangers-on are what kills Bear Runs.

And Pride events.

And Democratic grassroots organizations.

And liberal churches.

You know what you call those non-contributing cling-ons?

BLOODSUCKING LEECHES.

The leeches come to the events, they party with the out-of-towners, but they won't register for the event or join or volunteer or contribute in any way. They want to romp, but not earn the right to do so.

And the runs go under like IBR and Bear Bust. And the groovy church has to let go of their exciting new minister. And the idiotic Republican former-sheriff gets re-elected to Congress in a toss-up district.

If you want to vote in an organization's election, you must be a paid member in good standing. If you aren't, I'm sorry, but you've abdicated your right to complain and frankly, you have demonstrated that you aren't interested in being on the team. If you want to change how things work at an event, show up to the planning sessions. Don't have any money to pay for the registration? Volunteer. Don't have the time to volunteer, either? Then you don't have to time to party with us, do you?

Getting to exercise the privileges means that you also have to fulfill the responsibilities of membership.

I have no sympathy for comments from hecklers in the peanut gallery, which is all non-paying attendees are.

Just thought I'd point that out.

Don't like being called on your leeching ways?

FUCK YOU.

*ahem*

I may have some frustration tied up in this exact issue, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong.

I told a whining complainer at Spring Thaw "I'm sorry, [redacted], but did you come to a single meeting? Did you volunteer on the committee that planned this event? Did you help in any way, shape or form? No? Then I don't have to listen to a word you're saying."

And I turned on my heel and walked away to go do something constructive.

It's the little things that make it worthwhile.

It may not have been politically astute, mind you, but in all honesty, if I'd had to placate one more leeching bitch-mouth, I was going to quit the organization.

Truefact!

tvtropes.org is as addictive as caffeinated heroin.

BE TOLD.

One out of every nine US citizens now lives in a state or district where they can legally wed a same-sex partner because the state Senate of New York just voted 33-29 for them to be able to do so.

That's 33 million people who now have equal civil rights.

33 State Senators, including Republicans, voted to give our rights to us when the President, IN NEW YORK LAST NIGHT for a GAY fundraiser, still opposes gay marriage.

You know, our Democratic President, the one whose own parents could not have married 50 years ago because interracial marriages were once illegal, the one who talks about hope and change, that guy?

The one who did NOTHING to help this happen tonight.

I cannot wait until his daughters grow up and ask him why he was a bigot back when gay marriages weren't just standard like they soon will be.

SHAMEFUL.

Maddow points out rightly, "President Obama is against what just happened."

Hooray New York!

I SEEN BEYONCE AT BURGER KING!

It's so cute, over in

vurumai-Land, he hosted an Eighties Video Fight, and the poor dears fighting didn't even scratch the surface to get to the true horror of the depths of Eighties awfulness.

Such youngsters!

Here was my entry:

Five Star "Let Me Be The One"

Complete with matching jumpsuits, ridiculous hair, and did I mention killer dance moves?

Confession: I was the purple-jumpsuited one in the LipSync show one year.

Truefact!

(I think I still know the moves, aw yeah!)

The 2:18 minute mark has a Syncopated Shoulderpads BREAKDOWN!

OH HELL YES!

CAN YOU BEAT IT?

Powerpoint slides: 440 (9 per page)
Pages: 1100
Powerpoint recorded lectures: 18 hours

Motivation?

None.

That is all.

1) See a sunbreak? RUN OUTSIDE. Vitamin D is your friend.

2) Schedule things to do. Do not sit in the house 24/7. Be too damn busy to worry about the grey skies.

3) Layer. This is paramount.

4) See number 3.

( Behind the jump to hide the Master Techniques, Grasshopper )

Because sometimes, nothing is fun to do!

One of the things that occurs to me every so often is that I'm perky.

I know, duh, but there's a more interesting set of implications that have come to my attention:

( Behind the jump to guard the eyes of the unworthy! )
My response to all of these attacks?

Said in my perkiest voice with a twinkle in my eye and a smile on my face as I head off to find something fun to do with people I like:

"Fuck off and die in a fire!"

PERKY IS A WEAPON, AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE IT.

BE TOLD!

*giggle*

WHAT I THOUGHT:

What I initially found most interesting about the backlash against the category of anti-homophobic bullying video I posted yesterday and the "It Gets Better" project videos, was that there was this undercurrent of well, bitterness-disguised-as-realism, as in:

"It doesn't get better, it didn't for me, so you better get a reality check here."

Um, really?

That's the message people wanted to send to young gay teens. No hope? No encouragement? Just "life's a bitch and then you become embittered?"

Time has passed, and my initial impression has changed.

WHAT I THINK NOW:

I believe that this Irish video actually represents the dramatic sea-change that has taken place in the past ten years in terms of homophobia and its societal acceptance. Yes, the world depicted in the video is a utopian "Big Eden", "In and Out" extreme, but it is not as far from reality as some would claim.

A few weeks ago, a drunken fan in the seats next to us at the Seattle Sounders game screamed "Faggot" at a player, and the entire seating section got quiet and very clearly Did Not Approve. He did not repeat the epithet for the rest of the game, nor has he in the subsequent three games I've attended.

I see a societal-norms trend that homophobia is now being classified as bigotry and is no longer acceptable on a community-standards basis, and that "Faggot" is in the process of going the way of "Nigger" in terms of disapprobation of its use.

So my position is now this:

"Criticize the encouraging videos all you want, but can you hold off doing so until the teens the campaign is directed at live long enough to understand your more-sophisticated position?"

Because really, if ONE kid believes it, that It Gets Better and doesn't kill himself, then the entire campaign is a success, and you want that too, right?

Right?

I'll put down some money right here that we will hear testimonials from kids starting in about two years about how they heard of the Youtube It Gets Better videos even way out in the sticks where they were growing up and being bullied, and that they clung to them like a lifeline. I'll even go so far as to bet you that at least ten kids will say that the campaign stopped them from killing themselves. I'll even give short odds. Any takers?

See?

It doesn't matter if the 99% of jaded youth goes "whatever" and cynics all over them, those kids are not the target demographic here. Too many of us grew up thinking we were the only people like ourselves in our small towns, and had no hope. The Kansasville, Wisconsin gay kid needs to see these messages of optimism as much as the budding lesbian in Pascagoula, Mississippi does.

Offer hope, people.

It's free.

Made me sniffle!

My mom loves to tell the story of how she was sitting in the lounge of the senior center with friends from her building and they were bitching about how their sons would come over, tell them they should get a part-time job, and then turn on the TV to watch football. Mom says "My son doesn't want me to work anymore so I can enjoy my retirement, and he comes over to watch Jane Austen movies with me. I win."

Now I understand why they get so DUMB!

Killer Mind-control Zombie Fungus!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuKjBIBBAL8&feature=player_embedded

The horror of Y2Gay EXPOSED!

Are there really so many days where everyone in the world is romantic and loving that having ONE where those wonderful emotions are intentionally front and center is a bad thing? I THINK NOT.

CELEBRATE LOVE.

BE TOLD!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This made me cry, in a good way!

http://www.towleroad.com/2010/12/miracle.html#more

Happy Holidays and a Joyous New Year, everyone!

Love,

Chris

I present to you, with a tip o' the hat to

lostncove, Mary Ann, Ginger and Mrs. Howell, "Single Ladies"

Aw, yeah, get it, get it!

Do it like Carbon told ya!

God, what a wonderful year this has been!

It's amazing how things just *work* sometimes, and smooth sailing is the trend.

I'll be doing a New Year's Gratitude post later this month, but the short version?

2010 rocked socks!

Back to the studying, yes, yes.

But srsly?

2010: FOR THE WIN!

Cuban Sugar(plum Fairy)!

If you don't shake your ass to this?

You've died, and just don't know it yet!

Civil Unions, The Second Class Citizen's Alternative To Marriage!

This is a short and sweet and hilarious indictment of Civil Union "equality."

And don't get me started on a REAL MARRIAGE for me!

Pinch me, I'm dreaming! OMG, bridal registry, engraved invitations, the "will I dare wear white" question, the guest list wars...

*swoon*

Oh, someday.

*secretly crossing fingers*

I need beard conditioning advice. "Someone" says my beard is like steel wool. Who am I to argue?

Today is the first time in my life that a school I'm attending has had a snow day!

*happy dance, engage!*

Hurricane days, sure, but never a snow day!

I know that the world is a big bad nasty place with the TSA and paper cuts and North Korean nuclear centrifuges in it. I also know that choosing to look on the bright side is an intellectual choice that is not popular in certain circles, and is even disparaged and mocked by some if not all in the world.

But I just had a class today on the spiritual dimension of health and as the lovely snow fell outside the window, I realized an interesting set of things that the discussion about our lecture on grief, acceptance and forgiveness helped me become aware of:

1) The two angriest, nastiest-toned students, the ones who constantly challenge the teachers and ask questions they already know the answers to (as a test of the instructor, I guess?), those charming individuals?

They both argued against forgiveness. One said that "forgiveness is selfish."

My response was immediate and I blurted out: "Forgiveness is selfless."

She did not agree.

The other guy, who is, I'm sad to say, an Evil Queen Giving Us A Bad Name, said that "no one can truly forgive, they can only choose to ignore how they were wronged." *gasp* That? IS AWFUL!

I was filled with sadness for them both. Not from a superior position of pity, honestly, but a sadness about how their lives must be, day-to-day, with that mindset.

2) My mother is a Pollyanna. Of cosmic proportions. For the love of little green apples, her name is Glenda! We've called her the Good Witch for DECADES. (Yes, the Baum books spell it Glinda, and "Wicked" spells it Galinda, but I choose my own reality. BE TOLD!)

And that optimism rubbed off on me, big time.

Optimists think things are going to work out well, and in a self-reinforcing way only notice the instances when that belief is supported by events. Which makes them more optimistic because they were "proved" right. I refer to it as a Virtuous Circle.

Pessimists do the exact same thing, same reinforcement and all, but they focus on the instances that prove that things don't work out. Which makes them more pessimistic because they were "proved" right.I refer to it as a Vicious Circle.

Sure, that's a pejorative way to label the two mindsets. Um, so what? The term Pollyanna has come to have a negative connotation, and I reject that interpretation outright and am reclaiming the term Pollyanna for good. Why? Because I choose my own reality.

3) Mean people suck.

They just do.

I don't know if it's that they're lashing out, or that like Lucia in "The Opposite of Sex" they "have a death wish. I just direct it at others."

For whatever reason, malicious intent or no, they are Debbie Downers. Or worse.

I DO NOT WANT THEM IN MY LIFE.

My Livejournal is a ray of sunshine, dammit. I choose it to be. Sure I have some down times, and I've talked about them here, but by and large, and by a great margin, my posts are upbeat and happy-making.

Happy-making.

That is just about my favorite phrase in the world.

"That movie, 'Julie and Julia,' was so happy-making!"

"I just reread 'A Night In The Lonesome October' and it's so happy-making!"

"'To Say Nothing of the Dog...' is SUCH a happy-making book for me I can't stop rereading it!"

"

tbass teases me in such a happy-making way!"

"My mom just called to tell me that it's snowing and she's watching it drift down from her recliner with a good book and it's happy-making!"

HAPPY.

MAKING.

HAPPY-MAKING.

Say it loud, say it proud:

I choose to be happy-making!

BE TOLD!

Spanish little bear with a sweet voice, the Castilian lisp (ceceo), and a furry chest in a three-way with a man and a woman in the music video!

YOWZA!

Posted this ages ago, and it's still scorching!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39EEK9yaGz4

(Stupid embedding disabled, but go to the link!)

This is a necessary brain break, as I've been working all weekend on six projects for class, and I can see the finish line from here. This video is MEDICINAL! (5 down, 1 to finish)

*facepalm*

tbass just won Mr. Northwest Bear 2011!

I'm a first lady!

This is what it's all about!

Really, this Tim Minchin audio is priceless:

Monday, November 8th at Chop Suey (Madison and 14th Street) $6,

tbass and his band Shoot The Hostage have a show.

If we get a big turn out of people saying to the doorman "Hey, has Shoot The Hostage played yet?" we will be showing them that the band can draw fans. This means that when a cool-ass touring band comes 'round these here parts, Shoot The Hostage could get booked as the opener.

This?

IS A BIG DEAL.

Please come!

You don't even have to stay, if you don't want! It's just super important to get butts in the door!

Please and thank you!

Besides, just LOOK at this awesome poster!

BE TOLD!

I had no idea that my Sailor Blue scrubs would cause my hazel/green eyes to pick up that blue so much!

Thanks to

bukephalus for taking the pic for me!

Nurse Ratched better watch out, there's a new bitch in town!

This?

IS A HAPPY PUPPY!

Hat tip to

grandiva1968!

Preemptive Procrastination:

If I do the fifteen online quizzes today, which are all of the remaining ones for the quarter, I won't have to do them later and can be lazy and chill when everyone else is stressing in Nov/Dec.

If I do the project now by myself, I don't have to deal with a group later.

If I apply for the scholarship now, I won't have to worry about the due date.

Moral of story: it SEEMS like I'm super productive because I get shit done way in advance, but SECRETLY?

IT IS SHEER LAZINESS.

Be told!

*giggle*

I can't stop giggling!

“I’m going to need a fistful of aspirin before you open your goddamn mouth again.”

http://hungoverowls.tumblr.com

Srsly. Hair Metal Heaven!

http://www.game1010.com/video/video/cRE5nICkEEo/Northern-Kings-Take-on-me-Eurovsion-live.html

Muchos besos a

naamah_darling for the yumminess!

Be sated!

http://www.topnews.in/randy-male-sea-lion-dies-exhaustion-after-series-marathon-romps-2192004

President Obama Is Not On Our Side.

President Obama's Department of Justice is defending the anti-gay Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy in court after a federal judge found it unconstitutional (*1) and is in the process of deciding whether to defend the policy again in the most recent decision against it. (*2)

President Obama's Department of Justice is defending in three cases the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act in court after two separate federal judges found it unconstitutional. (*3, *4)

The day a federal judge declared California's anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 to be unconstitutional, President Obama's White House released a statement reiterating the President's opposition to gay marriage. (*5)

He took the Gay community's money and votes, and made impassioned speeches about being the community's fierce advocate. (*6)

I've been disappointed to find that President Obama works actively against our community. That is simply documented fact. As it stands right now, I am not voting for his re-election in 2012.

I am truly sad that this has happened, and I know it's got to be agonizing to admit for those in the Gay community who supported him that he isn't at all who they thought he was. Face it: he's ordered the Department of Justice to appeal every decision in our favor. That is 'fierce advocacy' all right, FOR THE OTHER SIDE.

The truth is:

"President Obama Is Not On Our Side."

Sources:

*1 http://www.scribd.com/doc/29167760/Dept-of-Justice-Defends-Don-t-Ask-Don-t-Tell-policy. "Dept. of Justice Defends Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy."

*2 http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/09/23/DOJ_Counters_Log_Cabin_to_Keep_DADT/ "DOJ to Judge: Keep Enforcing DADT"

*3 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/12/obama-defends-antigay-def_n_214764.html "Obama Admin Moves To Dismiss Defense Of Marriage Act Challenge."

*4 http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/doj_files_appeal_defending_doma.php "the U.S. Department of Justice this afternoon filed notices of appeal in two cases striking down the federal definition of marriage, contained in the Defense of Marriage Act, as unconstitutional."

*5 http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/08/04/White_House_Statement_Prop_8/. David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to the President:“The President has spoken out in opposition to Proposition 8 because it is divisive and discriminatory. He will continue to promote equality for LGBT Americans. The president does oppose same-sex marriage but he supports equality for gay and lesbian couples."

*6 http://gay.americablog.com/2010/09/getequals-broken-promises-lgbt-remix.html "GetEQUAL's 'Broken Promises LGBT Remix, Vol. 1'"

Dude,

You want to pick a fight with someone you don't know? Do it on your own fucking Livejournal. Not mine.

My LJ is for my friends, and having one of them attack another and getting personal with ad hominem attacks?

Um, so not cool.

Kicked him off my friends list and banned him from commenting because I don't have room in my life for offensive boors and bullies.

technocowboy, I am so sorry that this happened to you and so furious that it happened on my LJ. Please accept my apology for my former friend's behavior.

Chris

PS Y'all know I only lay down the law when I am FUCKING PISSED, and right now? That's right, I am laying down the law: you will keep a civil tone or you will be off the list faster than I can say "I don't fucking care who our mutual friends are, if you act like that you are no friend of mine. Period."

Hey there, Microsoft, how's it hanging?

Good to hear, good to hear. But, hey, look, the reason why I'm calling is that I wanted to ask you if you remembered WordPerfect 5.1?

Yeah, I thought not.

Well, here's the problem, let me break it down for you:

Those Who Do Not Study History Are Doomed To Repeat It, you jackasses.

( Behind the cut because I say fuck a lot )

Just because you're the 700-pound gorilla doesn't mean that treating your old boyfriend like shit is RIGHT, fuckwad.

I HATE YOU.

*ahem*

So how's YOUR night going, friends list?

Mustache, mustache, mustache... beard!

Vampires don't turn to stone, can't abide daylight, and most importantly, do NOT sparkle.

Therefore Edward Cullen is not a vampire.

He's a lawn ornament.

One of the greatest benefits of unloading my storage 5x10 in Port Townsend, in addition to FINALLY being out of there, is that I was able to dig down to my gaming books.

I have "one, two, three, many!" of them.

Like hundreds.

Some people collect stamps, I collect WORLDS.

( Cut for your non-geek protection! )

Srsly, gang, I'm just basking in the Geeky glow!

CUTE five minute film starring the impossibly hot Grant Roa!

*swoon*

The possible death of Livejournal frightens me.

Therefore, I am here.

IFF necessary.

Howdy!

"I want life, life wants me to breathe in its love."

TRUEFACT!

And people wonder why I'm such an optimist.

Music like this makes me wonder why everyone else ISN'T!

(Tip o' the hat to Jeb, DJ 50 Pound Note, for reminding me how much I love this!)