GirlyDyke

Is there anybody out there.....

2013-04-03T16:31:00.001-04:00

Whoa. Does this thing still work?

2008-01-15T15:54:00.001-05:00

2008-01-08T13:28:00.000-05:00

Buy Buy Buy!

Latest in the long long list of crazy-ass ways to thwart the homosexual agenda comes from Rev. Ken Hutcherson, who is urging his followers to buy stock in Microsoft, so as to gain control of the company and put an end to their crazy no discriminatin' ways.

He told company leaders, "I could work with you, or I could be your worst
nightmare, because I am a black man with a righteous cause, with a host of
powerful white people behind me," according to an e-mail update to his
supporters. "I hope to hear from you and if not, you will hear from me."

Good luck with that.

2008-01-03T08:32:00.001-05:00

Got God?

I was perusing reddit this morn and came upon this gem which asks the question "Can Atheists be Parents?"

Apparently the answer is no.

In an extraordinary decision, Judge Camarata denied the Burkes' right to
the child because of their lack of belief in a Supreme Being. Despite the
Burkes' "high moral and ethical standards," he said, the New Jersey state
constitution declares that "no person shall be deprived of the inestimable
privilege of worshiping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of
his own conscience." Despite Eleanor Katherine's tender years, he continued,
"the child should have the freedom to worship as she sees fit, and not be
influenced by prospective parents who do not believe in a Supreme Being."

My head asplodes. If it is feasible to deny an adoption to atheists because the parents could influence their child, should it not also be feasible to deny adoptions to fundamentalist douchebags who will almost certainly indoctrinate their children? Doesn't that also prevent a child from worshipping as they see fit?

Also, in the news of duh, go check out Lee Harris' Revisiting the Stupid Party, wherein he basically argues that the only way to be a good conservative is to be an idiot. I couldn't agree more.

Hat tip to Chet over at Shakesville.

UPDATE: Apparently the atheist story was from before I was born, so never mind. Lee Harris is still an idiot tho.

2007-12-28T12:35:00.000-05:00

Praise Jebus!

Christmas is over, thanks be to whomever may be up there. Honestly, its probably my least favorite holiday. Well, not entirely true. I just hate the pressure to spend like a billion dollars on worthless crap. If the mega xtians wanna bitch about a war on christmas, their first battle should be against consumerism instead of folks that dare say "happy holidays". Seriously, Jesus was all about compassion and giving to the poor and such, how bouts next year all the "Christians" forego the malls and instead go through their closets and donate say 15% of the contents to homeless shelters. THAT would be in line with the spirit of christmas. Now, before basking in the glow of my xmas schwag, I must inform you that one of the gifts that my inlaws gave the darling gf consisted of "homeless kits" with gloves and hats and baby wipes and such, and she was totally geeked about it, so I'm totally covered in the whole charity thing by way of association.

Now, on to more important matters. Like my NEW KITCHENAID!!!! Well actually it is technically our new KitchenAid, but gf got homeless kits, so I am claiming it. Don't be hatin, yo.
I also got fleece pj pants, a pop up Stephen King book (!), a bunch of regular books, a See and Say ornament (that actually sees and says), an awesome print, and I'm sure some other stuff that I have forgotten to mention. We had a good day, even though it was a bit rushed and hectic. All in all glad to be done with it. Now I just gotta get through new years and life will be peachy.

In internet-connectivity-at-home news, I have a mixed report. Verizon came out the morning of christmas eve and fixed their flub, so I do have internet. However, the wireless router portion of the modem/router combo they sent me died almost immediately, so I gotta call em back and bitch some more. Luckily I have the router I used with my cable connection, so I can still use the laptop. Yay!

2007-12-21T09:09:00.000-05:00

Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me

I ran across this over at Dooce and decided to write a little about my own experiences in the mental health realm. I've had a problem with depression and anxiety as long as I can remember. It never occured to me that it was actually a problem tho, I just assumed that life sucked and then ya died and thats just the way it was for everyone. I'd have times where I wasn't depressed, but I knew that eventually I'd fall back to my baseline, which was things kinda suck, just deal with it.

A little over a year ago, I finally decided to go to a therapist. Not because I thought it would help, but because my gf urged me to go and at the time we weren't on very solid ground relationship wise, so I went to basically shut her up. It helped a bit, mostly with the anxiety, but certainly wasn't what I would call a life changing experience. My gf expressed concern about the lack of results, which I interpreted as an attack and promptly started to resent her concern and what I thought of as her "I know better than you" attitude. Of course, having been through therapy before, she did know better than me. I just refused to acknowledge that because I was pissed off and hurting and very much woe is me. And some part of me was glad that therapy wasn't doing much, because that meant that I wasn't crazy. There's nothing wrong with me, its just that the world is shit and I'm the only one who sees it. Go me and my firm grasp on reality. Obviously the problem can't be me, cause look, I'm getting help! What more would you like me to do? That part of me was also happy because depression is habit forming. At least it is to someone like me (which is to say someone that is not a fan of change). The idea of living without depression is scary. I mean hey, if you're already on the floor, you don't have far to fall, right? Why the hell would I wanna go and get all happy when I know damn well that eventually life will kick me in the teeth. How can I be sure I'll survive a fall like that?

So I continued with therapy that didn't do much for close to a year. During that year, my relationship with my gf continued to deteriorate. We decided to pursure couples therapy to help us find some common ground, and I decided to continue my individual therapy with our couples therapist. Partly it was to assuage gf's concerns, and partly it was to make sure that our therapist got to hear "my side of the story" about our relationship. It certainly wasn't because I thought she could do any better than my last therapist because as I've said, nothing wrong with me.

Lo and behold, during my very first session, things did change. Or started to anyways. Its a little hard to describe. The closest I can come is that it was very much like getting my first pair of glasses. Not a huge change, just a little shift. Things are clearer. I can see farther. The world isn't quite so blurry and confusing as I thought. Its really just a matter of perception. In therapy, I've learned to see things from a different angle, and thats what makes the difference. The effect its had on my relationship with the gf is huge. I think our relationship is stronger now than its ever been, and I have no doubt it will continue to improve. I laugh more, worry less, and am able to do more for the people I love. And I have gotten to know myself better, which enables me to know others better as well.

So there's my therapy story. I was right btw, there isn't anything wrong with me. I'm just a normal run o the mill lesbian. Now I just have a better view. So if you've flirted with the idea of therapy, either for yourself or for your relationship, please please please do it. Its the best thing I have ever done for myself and best thing I could have possibly done for my relationship. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, its a sign of strength.

Therapy is by no means a cure all for everyone. And it isn't always the easiest thing to do. Sometimes ya gotta look at things that you don't want to see, and sometimes life still sucks pretty hard. But the fall doesn't look quite so scary.

2007-12-19T11:02:00.000-05:00

BACK!!

So I'm gonna attempt to bring my ol blog back from the dead. First order o business is to bring y'all up to date. Lets see, in the last like 2 years, I got laid off, fell into a hellish depression, found a therapist, found a new job, found a better therapist, and now I feel much better. Oh, and I got another cat. Because as much as I try to fight it, I am, indeed one of those lesbians. So there ya go, all caught up.

Well, almost caught up. Recent events in the girlydyke household have included shutting off the cable. We now get three whole channels on our big ass TV. Three. Count em. Last night our TV watching options included The Biggest Loser, which apparently is some sort of "reality" show where fat people try to become less fat so as to win cash. Can't say I'm a fan. Our second option was some sort of Christmas concert kinda thing. Looked to be a "Put the CHRIST back in CHRISTMAS you dirty fucking heathens!" type of program, so um no. And the final option was some show about a doctor that deals in mysterious illnesses? maybe?

I haven't watched broadcast TV in so long I don't even know what to do with myself. I'm just hoping I can fanangle the rabbit ears enough to get Lost when it comes back on because reality tv makes me want to kill people. We should have our DSL service up and running tomorrow night, so I'll attempt to blog from home. Or you'll hear from me in another 2 years. *shrug*

2006-02-18T13:37:00.000-05:00

All Hail Me!

Wow, two posts in less than 6 months. Aren't y'all lucky? So, since last I blogged, the VP shot a guy in the face with a shotgun. Not sure exactly who would find that surprising, but whatev. Woulda made a much much better story if it had been Chimpy McAsshat that got "peppered". Hee. But I guess ya can't have everything.
In other news, the foxtrot is satan's way of splitting up happily coupled lesbians. Consider yourself warned. Luckily, the darling girlfriend and I recognized the dark one's plot and promptly boycotted the evil dance. Haha! F U Satan! Swing dancing, however, is huge fun and I suggest everyone learn how. And fo real, its like hella simple.
And now! On to the big big really big huge motherfucking news! Are ya ready?!?!?
I QUIT SMOKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No, really I did. Did so. Its been like 3 weeks since I had a cigarette. Granted, I am medicated, but still. Go me!! WOOOOOOO!!!! I have been smoking for 20 years. Which is ~2/3 of my life BTW. And if I can do it, me of little will power, anyone can. Get your doc to put you on Wellbutrin (which is the same as zyban, except insurace will usually cover wellbutrin. But not zyban. Cause its much cheaper to pay for a lung transplant later than pay for pills now. or something.) Anyhoo, get your wellbutrin, make up your mind and just do it. And then blog about it, so if ya fuck it up you'll feel like an asshole. Extra inspiration ya know ;o)
So far I don't feel much different. Its getting easier as time goes on, but I still jones a butt in a big way a few times a day. I might have a teensy bit more energy, but nothing terribly life changing. The only thing I've really noticed is that I can smell things alot better now. Like the bullshit the white house spews daily for example. Pheewww!! How do you people stand it?

PS Also since I last blogged, the Steelers won the superbowl. Which I forgot to mention because I have only the foggiest of memories of the superbowl, due to the celebrating that occured. So congrats Steelers! And thanks to darling girlfriend for not only watching the game with me, but also for driving my drunken obnoxious ass home. You da best baby!

2006-01-29T12:07:00.000-05:00

Not Dead Yet!
Hola! I know its been a billion years and I am a bad, bad blogger. Shit happened and I just kinda fell off the face of the earth for a bit but I'm back now! Lucky you!

Lets see, since last I blogged, I became roommateless, did the holiday thing and lost feeling in my left leg. Was all "Ahhhh I'm dyin" for like a month, till they told me its tarsal tunnel syndrome. Which is just like carpal tunnel syndrome. Except in your feet. Who ever heard of such a thing? Apparently they can fix it with a pretty minor operation, but I'm not gonna get it done till sometime this summer. I'm in Smouse and Rach's wedding in May, and in preparation we are all taking ballroom dance classes. For homos. And it was my idea, which kinda blows my mind, but hey, least I'll be able to dance. Assuming of course that I actually improve, cause lemme tell ya, I suuucccckkkk! Suck with the force of an imploding universe. Even light cannot escape my suckage. But thats ok, cause at least Smouse and Rach don't have to worry bout being the class dunces ;o)

Oo, also since last I blogged the new season of the L Word started. What. The Fuck. The TOE guy is gone, the dickwad filmmaker guy is gone, and Helena and Alice are like all chummy. Who wrote this shit? I mean, seriously. Alice and Bette were tight, right? Had all the history together and yada yadda, and Alice is just gonna chum up with the heinous beeyotch that fucked Bette over repeatedly? Think not.
Oh, and they did introduce the new butch character, Moira. Played by Daniella Sea. Who is hawt! But of course they have to make her clumsy and backward and kinda dorky. And all the thin glamorous femmy L Word girls just can't abide by a dyke that wears flannel, so they all take great joy in poking fun when they meet her. Except for Shane, who is my new favorite. And Jenny of course, cause they're doin the deed. Jenny and Moira that is. But I'll bet my left tit that Shane and Jenny are gonna get down and dirty. And I for one am greatly looking forward to that union, cause you just know its gonna be all forbidden fruity and delicious. And then Moira can knock off Helena and hook up with Alice and decide she doesn't want a penis after all. And the four can live happily ever after while the rest fall off the earth. Yay!

2005-09-22T07:31:00.000-04:00

3 more years

Chimpy McAsshat has been in office for damn near 5 years. Its amazing how much can change in that small amount of time. For example, 5 years ago I read the news maybe like once a month. I didn't have to pay attention. Bill was too busy getting blow jobs to fuck up the world. And good for him.

I was watching Resident Evil 2 the other night. If you're not familiar, its one o those dead people walking around eating live people kinda movies. (And had hot chicks with guns, if you're into that kind of thing. Which I am.) Anyways, so I'm watching this movie and its scaring the shit out of me. Not cause zombies are creepy, I been watching horror movies since age 11 and it takes a lot to freak me out. See, I'm scared silly because I realize that if something were to happen, some big bad unknown, no one is coming to save me. A flood, tornado, terrorist attack, zombies, whatever. I'm on my own. And so are you.

After Katrina, I heard a whole lot of people defending FEMA, saying that it wasn't the federal goverments job, the locals fucked up, yadda yadda yadda. Newsflash- I don't care. The governments purpose is to keep us safe. That's what we pay them for. We lost an entire fucking city. Gone. Poof. While Chimpy vacationed.

And now Rita's comin to town. I can't even imagine. And of course, the gov't is all over this one. All "Lookit! We can handle it! We bad!" I ain't buying it. In the past five years, we've seen the worst terrorist attack in our history. We were duped into a war that we can't win. We've seen people- OUR people- floating facedown in a toxic soup. Do you feel safer? Cause I sure as shit don't.

2005-09-19T09:57:00.000-04:00

Never has bunny-boiling sounded so good

The darling girlfriend and I watched The Brown Bunny last night. Well, watched isn't really a good description. Endured maybe? Survived? Barely managed to get through without hurling?

Anyhoo, here's the synopsis from the official website:

The Brown Bunny is a love story. It's the story of one man's tragic loss of the love of his life. He is Bud Clay. And he races motorcycles. He rides in the 250cc Formula II class of road racing. Round and round he goes, repeating laps over and over until the race is over. The story begins with Bud racing in New Hampshire. Bud's next race is in California in five days. And so his journey begins across America. And every day Bud is haunted by the same memories of the last time he saw his true love. Bud will do anything to make those memories disappear. And every day he tried to find a new love. Making outrageous requests of women to come with him on his trip and then leaving them behind after they've agreed. He can't replace Daisy, the only girl he's ever loved and the only girl he will ever love. But every day he tries.

Now remember, this is from the official site. This is what's supposed to make you rush out and see the film. My first impression is that someone got their third grade nephew to write this crap, but after seeing the film, I can only assume it was the big boss himself, Mr. Vincent Gallo.

Gallo wrote the screenplay, but he didn't stop there. Oh no! He was also the director, producer, editor and cinematographer. And he starred in it too! You may be thinking "Wow, he must really be attached to this project, to put so much work into it!" And you'd be right. He is absolutely attached to this film. But more about that later.

So, we have motorcycle racing Bud traveling across the country brooding about his lost love. And that's exactly what you see. Long, drawn out shots of poor, lovesick Bud driving his van. Eating Chinese food. Driving some more. Looking pouty. And yes, more with the driving. And occasionally he meets a woman with a flowery name (Rose, Lilly, etc) and sort-of hits on her in a completely unbelievable clumsy way. Well, ok, the hitting-on is kinda believable, its the reaction he gets that is outside the realm of plausible. For example, here is a bit of conversation (paraphrased for your pleasure):

Bud: Hi gas station lady, whats your name?
Gas station lady: Its somestupidflowername. Do you race motorcycles?
Bud: I do! I'm going to California! Come with?
Stupidflowerlady: I don't even know you.
Bud: Please please please please?
Stupidflowerlady: oh, ok then.
*Insert random making out scene before Bud drives off without her*

Poor Bud! So alone! So misunderstood! And so he's off on his cross country trip. And we're treated to endless shots of the side of Bud's head while he drives. And broods. And drives some more. And then he meets stupidflower name #2. Make out. Leave. More driving. Repeat.

Finally Bud gets to California and rents himself a hotel room. And who shows up but his long lost one and only true love DAISY(played by Cloe Sevigny)! And they make small talk for a bit, until Daisy is no longer able to fight the pull of Vincent Gallo-I mean-Bud's! Mighty! Penis! and goes down on him in a major hard core porn kinda way. Minus the money shot cause apparently Chloe swallows. And then Bud goes all fetal and mumbles and cries and we find out that Daisy is actually dead, and she'd been unconscious and gang raped last time Bud saw her. And he left her there. His one true love. To be raped some more. Poor poor Bud.

As I said above, Mr. Gallo is very attached to this film. How else is he supposed to show the world how much he rocks? Or get laid? Seriously, Mr. Gallo's lack of sexual prowess has got to be behind this film. Has to be. I bet he was all "I make movies, and I have this really big penis, WHY DON"T THE GIRLS LIKE ME??? I know! I'll talk that Chloe chick into suckin me off ON FILM, pass it off as a hip, artsy, indie movie and all the art school girls will be LINING UP!*"

Do me a favor Vinnie. Next time, just buy a big mirror and jack off in front of that. Just don't film it for the love of Christ.

And Chloe- Chloe, Chloe, Chloe. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!?

*Actually, this was the darling girlfriend's theory. She's smart like that. ;o)

2005-09-14T07:33:00.000-04:00

Name that quote!

"I may not agree with the [gay] lifestyle. And I don't. But that has nothing to do with the civil rights of that member of our -- that part of our constituency. ... Housing and employment are not special rights. ... I think the right to live somewhere and to live where you please or to work where you please, as long as you're not bothering anybody else, is a basic right, not a -- not a special right. ... Civil rights for all Americans -- black, white, red, yellow, the rich, poor, young, old, gay, straight, et cetera -- is not a liberal or a conservative value. It's an American value that I would think that we pretty much all agree on."

Put your guesses in the comments. No cheating!

2005-09-13T14:40:00.000-04:00

Newsflash!

According to a recent Playboy poll, 54% of college girls would cheat on their boyfriends with Brad Pitt.

Pity for him, 57% want to sleep with his current squeeze Angelina Jolie. Mmmm... Angelina....

In other lesbian related news, Michelle Rodriguez will be on the new season of Lost. Which I've never seen. But you can be sure I'll be watching now ;o) Not that I think she's queer or anything. I mean, she's about as queer as that Jorja Fox chick from CSI. Ahem.

2005-09-12T13:57:00.000-04:00

Yay Comcast!!

I was notified in an email from the girls last week that my cable company now has a gay channel! Yay gay!! So of course, all weekend I was watching the homos. Well, most of the weekend anyways. Ya can only watch so many same sex weddings before losing your lunch.

Anyhoo, that's really an aside. The point of the post is to inform y'all that the L word has a new hottie in town! Unfortunately I can't seem to find a pic of her online. But you can check her out in the video for First Day of my Life by Bright Eyes. Which I strongly urge you to do because not only do you get lesbian eye candy, but also because the video just plain rocks. LOGO has been playing it like 12 times a day. Makes the weddings easier to stomach I guess. Anyways, I'd tell ya which one she is, but it'll be more fun for ya to guess.

2005-08-30T13:05:00.000-04:00

Cause, Ug

Instead of going on about Bush being an asshole and DailyKos being, again, a misogynistic asshat dickwad fucker, I think instead I should regale you with random unrelated tales of the life of Kim aka kimberst aka me.

So check it. Last weekend the darling girlfriend and I went to Rehoboth with our very dear friends Smouse and Rach. I would link to their blogs, but they never update so fuck em. Anyhoo, we got to hang out and do the whole lesbian beach thing, which is super super cool as long as you don't set up camp next to the award winning champion talker. Unfortunately we didn't know this bit of wisdom, being new at the whole "Its a beach! Full of LESBIANS!!!" thing, but eventually things quieted down. Or my eardrums ruptured. One or t'other. We had to cut the weekend a bit short due to unfortunate circumstances but all in all it was a good trip, cept for the bad news Smouse got. (hugs to the Smouse family)

Second random bit of life- I get to go to the dentist this Friday. Which would normally cause me all shades of trauma and anxiety, but this particular dentist will knock your ass out while any work is done. For an extra added $300, but so, so, so, so worth it. Seriously. If the dentist squicks you out as bad as they do me, find one that offers oral sedation and pay the extra. The whole thing goes like this:
First you set up the appointment. Then, sometime before the appointment you go and fill out all the paperwork and pay the bill and get everything done. And then they give you pills to take home. Yay pills!!! The night before the appointmet, you take one o the pills. Which are valium BTW. Or tic tacs, couldn't tell ya cause they didn't seem to have any effect whatsoever. But anyways, you take one pill the night before and another one an hour before your appointment. You get your chauffer to haul your ass to the office bright and early, where they put a thick cushy pad thing on the normal dentist chair, making it all comfy. And they give you a blanket! And then give you some kind of medicine powder stuff. Which they mix with applesauce cause it tastes like ass, resulting in- surprise!- apple-flavored ass sauce. No wait, ass flavored apple sauce. Yeah yeah, thats it.
So then they put this other powder stuff under your tongue, which is supposed to knock your ass out. And no, this powder isn't ass flavored. So, at this point in the process, I'm all "whoohoo, lights out!" Cept the lights don't go out. I'm not terribly concerned (maybe the valium did work), but I'm a little freaked. Cause they told me that I'd be able to respond, but I wouldn't remember anything the next day, so I'm thinkin there's a possibility that they just drill the fuck out of ya like normal, only you don't remember.
So they come in and start working a bit, and I'm all "OW stop it OW stop it" ala Bart Simpson, so they novacaine me up and finally Mr. Dentist himself comes in and says "Hey. You're wide awake." Whoa. No wonder I'm payin you $500 an hour. You have some mad observation skilz Mr. Dentist! So they dose me with the under the tongue powder stuff again. And then things get fuzzy. lol I remember them wedging some kinda firm but soft thingies in my mouth to keep it open, and then I remember them wheeling me out in a wheel chair. I slept till 1 the next day. And Friday I get to do it all over again!! Mmmmm... ass sauce...

In other random news bits, I have started working on the third floor of the house. Cause ya know, 4 bedrooms just isn't enough for 2 people, I gotta convert the upstairs too. But it will be hella cool when its done cause eventually it will be a master suite with a full bath (whirlpool tub!) and a walk in closet. Of course all that stuff is years down the line. Right now I'm spackling. And sanding. And spackling. And sanding. And getting dust every-fucking-where. But I'm getting pretty damn good with the spackle, I must say. Check it:
before
after
Behold the power of the dyke!

2005-08-18T09:49:00.000-04:00

Where Left is Right and Right is Left

It seems Mr. Man-On-Dog Santorum has some competition.

A challenge to Santorum within his own party came as a surprise to many in the
GOP.
John Featherman, 41, who supports abortion rights, gay
marriage and a flat tax, said he wants to offer moderate Republicans an
alternative to the conservative Santorum, a two-term incumbent.

Emphasis mine. Heh.

So, while its a long shot, we could see an anti-gay, anti-choice Democrat running against a gay friendly pro-choice Republican.

Guess who I'd vote for.

2005-08-11T13:58:00.000-04:00

Yeah

OK, I suck, haven't blogged in a billion million years, yadda yadda yadda. Whatev. Finally found something worth blogging about. Check it- Pfizer Patents Premature Climax Pill For Women.

Is that really a problem? Really!?!? I read somewhere that the time from stick-it-in to ejactulation for the average man is 7 minutes. A whole. 7. Minutes. So I suppose if a woman reached climax in what? like 5 minutes? that could be considered premature. 5 minutes. Yeah, right.

So Pfizer, those bastions of womens health and happiness, are attempting to talk women into buying a pill to erradicate a "problem" that I'd bet at least half the female population wishes they had.

Hey, here's an idea- if your beau has a problem cause you pop too soon, tell him to yank it for awhile and you'll catch up in a few.

That'll be $40.

2005-06-20T15:24:00.000-04:00

Swoon!

Saturday night was the Indigo Girl's concert at Seven Springs. Due to the kindness of a random employee, we ended up about a foot from the stage. After the concert Amy Ray touched me.
That's right.
Amy freakin Ray touched me.
My beautiful and quick thinkin girlfriend snapped a pic as the deed was done. Unfortunately she didn't have time to snap a picture of me too.

This is Amy as she's touching me:

This is an artist's rendition of my reaction:

That is all.

2005-06-15T10:44:00.000-04:00

On Women's Day, I blogged about Mukhtaran Bibi, a Pakistani woman who was gang raped and became a vociferous spokswoman against rape and honor killings, both of which are common in her country. She's opened two schools with money awarded to her in compensation for the rape, raised more money and started a shelter for abused women, and bought a van to be used as an ambulance for the area. I blogged about her story because it was one of hope and courage and strength. Apparently the Pakistani government doesn't agree.

On Thursday, the authorities put Ms. Mukhtaran under house arrest - to stop her from speaking out. In phone conversations in the last few days, she said that when she tried to step outside, police pointed their guns at her. To silence her, the police cut off her land line.

After she had been detained, a court ordered her attackers released, putting her life in jeopardy. That happened on a Friday afternoon, when the courts do not normally operate, and apparently was a warning to Ms. Mukhtaran to shut up. Instead, Ms. Mukhtaran continued her protests by cellphone. But at dawn yesterday the police bustled her off, and there's been no word from her since. Her cellphone doesn't answer.

I really don't know what to say. It is incomprehensible to me that a woman that has done so much good for her community would be treated this way. But then again, its incomprehensible that a woman could be sentenced to gang rape because her brother was accused of wrongdoing. Please, write your representatives and Mr. "W is for women" himself and tell them to stand up for this amazing woman.

UPDATE: Nevermind :o)

2005-06-07T08:11:00.000-04:00

So much for the genius

A couple weeks ago, I blogged about an ad for right wing bumperstickers and such that was on DailyKos. Well, now there's a new ad in town. I was blog hoppin yesterday, and I came across a post snarking about the "sanctimonius women's studies set." Of course my intrest was piqued. Turns out Kos' knickers were in a knot because those persnickety feminists expressed disgust at an ad that Kos was running.

The ad in question is for the New Gilligan's Island reality show. It features the new Mary Ann and Ginger having a big ol pie fight/ wet tshirt contest. I saw the ad, thought ug, and pretty much blew it off. Until I read Kos' post. And the comments. To be fair, there were quite a few comments (from men even!) that defended the women that complained. Most, however, sounded something like "Titties! Titties are good! I like me some titties!" and "what the hell is wrong with you people!?! These woman are expressing their sexuality! You're trying to censor women's sexuality you patriarchal prude!!" and my personal fav, "I have a lesbian friend, and she said it was HAWT, so its can't be offensive!!"

Um yeah. And this on a "progressive" site. Gives me so much hope for the future. Not. So, anyhoo, I could spend a good hour or two detailing why the ad is offensive, why people have a right (and a duty, IMO) to complain about its presence on the site, etc etc, ad nauseum, but there are a million feminists out there who will do it better, so I'll just comment on two points.

First off, let's look at the lesbian friend argument. K, let me explain something. All lesbians are not alike. No, really. We may have some things in common (Indigo Girls, flannel, the hots for Angelina, really good sex lives...), but we're not clones. We're not even all feminists. Actually, in my experience, most lesbians aren't feminists. I know, blows my mind too, but there ya go. So. Your lesbian friend's opinion of the ad means no more or less than anyone else's opinion of it, and it most certainly does not represent the thoughts of all lesbians, or all feminists. I have a male friend that thinks the ad is gross. That doesn't mean all men think its gross (obviously), so seriously, shut the fuck up already. "My friend the *fillintheblank*" isn't a good argument for or against anything. Shut. Up.

On to the "stop censoring women's sexuality" crowd. And can I just say how surprised I was that there was at least one woman among the men arguing this point? Cause really, how could you possibly believe that? OK, granted, a lot of women fantasize about lesbian interactions. But I have never, ever, ever in my life heard or read anything EVER about women fantasizing about having a pie fight and wrestling around on a table. With another woman. To sell a fucking TV show. I mean come on people, the ad is so obviously geared towards men. Its not selling female sexuality, its selling male fantasy. Period, end of story.

In summary: is the ad offensive? Hell yes. But no more than the rest of the ads on the net. What makes it over the top is its placement on a site that claims to be progressive. And, of course, the "shut up bitch, da menfolks is talkin!" attitude expressed by so many of the commenters on that site. And they wonder why the Democrats are losing women voters. Pfft.

For those wondering why advertising is important, check out this article.

2005-06-03T07:51:00.000-04:00

Huh?

"The 19th Amendment is around because men weren't doing their jobs, and I think that's sad. I believe the man should be the head of the family. The woman should be the heart of the family."

Now there's a quote only a Republican could love. And indeed, it was spoken by a Republican. No shock there. A female Republican, which, while sad and pathetic, still isn't much of a shock. What am I leadin up to? The quote is from..... wait for it...... a female Republican SENATOR. Not only is she a senator, but she wants to be secretary of state.

Let's look at this logically. If you go by O'Connor's opinion, then women shouldn't vote. Which means that women shouldn't be involved in the political process at all. Which means she should SHUT THE FUCK UP!

Seriously, that's like me going up to my boss and saying "Ya know, women are really pretty stupid when it comes to science and engineering. I think maybe they should just be banned from those jobs."

And yet, people voted for her. *sigh*

2005-05-27T13:31:00.000-04:00

You must be joking

So, last night, the darling girlfriend and I met da fellas at the tux shop to pick up our prom attire. And can I just tell you that it is a thousand times more embarassing to be a woman being fitted for a tux than it is to go shopping for sex toys? Just saying. Anyhoo, met the girls, did the tux thing, then we all went to dinner, then out for a few drinks.

We get to the bar, have to wait 15 minutes for them to open the damn doors, then commence to drnking and talking about sex. Typical night out. And THEN, bout 5 drinks into the evening, darling girlfriend leans over and says "that guy in the red Tshirt keeps looking at me. Ew." I think nothing of it, till 10 minutes later he comes over and LICKS MY GIRLFRIENDS TOES. No, really, this freaky sick fuck comes over and leans down, we're thinking he's picking something up off the floor. And then he grabs my woman's ankle and licks her toes. Then looks up, says "thank you" and proceeds on to the bathroom. Takes about 10 seconds for it to sink in, and then girlfriend goes off. Me an the girls are dumbfounded. Cause really. I mean, I got nothing against foot fetish types, but helloo, number 1- stay the fuck out of gay bars unless you're lickin boy foot, and number 2- stay the fuck away from my woman. And find a fucking date to lick, you sick twisted bastard.

Now, you would assume, as I did, that the owner of the bar (who is a lesbian, BTW), would have a thought process that goes something like this- "Hmmm... there's a group of 4 lesbians in my bar spending money.... they're here quite a bit... perhaps I should throw this jackass out, seeing as how he's STRAIGHT and LICKS PEOPLE'S TOES, and I don't want to piss off my regulars." But is that whay she thinks? Oh no. She takes him aside and explains to him that it isn't nice to lick people without permission. And he goes back and sits at the bar. And apparently I'm supposed to be ok with that. Mind you, she told me 5 minutes before that this dickhead did the same thing to another woman last week. What. The. Fuck.

So, I need a new bar. Fuck the Longbada. I feel safer in a straight bar. Least they woulda thrown toe licker out. Unfuckingbelievable.

2005-05-17T08:43:00.000-04:00

True Story

Dear [name omitted]
Thank you for your inquiry and your kind words regarding
True. No, the information that you have is inaccurate.
1) We have a $10 cover for everyone on select evenings with
occassional VIP/ guset list individuals excuded - gay and straight.
2) We no longer offer tap water - only bottled water at $3.25 for everyone. We used to charge $1.50 per glass for everyone.
3) I am unaware of any "stories" that you refer to. The past 1 1/2 years have beenquite a learning experience for me and my staff. We have made many friends and met many fascinating people -both hetero and homo.
Unfortunately, one blatent and marked outcome that we have all noticed is
that when we have large groups of gays visit True, our sales drop drastically and the bartenders make little in tips. I have been presented with many ideas of why this might be, with no perfect solution for everyone. What I ask everyone to understand is that True is a business first and makes most of revenue from straight couples. It is unfortunate that Pittsburgh does not support a quality gay bar.
We have all seen them come and go, with a few mainstays not making enough
for the owners to reinvest or upgrade.
It is also unfortunate that the vast majority of people that patronize True do not wish to mix with large crowds of gays and I am sure that the opposite holds true as
well. True has overhead so high that it simply can't survive with
large amounts of its customers ordering nothing, water, soft drinks, or even nursing a single beverage for several hours.
I am deeply saddened to relay this information to you and would understand any and all of the anger that you and your friends may have upon reading this - however, I believe that you do deserve an explaination and perhaps better understand the economics behind True.
Thank you again for your
inquiry.
Sincerely,
Eric

Hi Eric! Bigot much?
The above is quoted word for word from an email I was forwarded, with one exception. The original email wasn't about heteros dissin homos, it was about gay men dissin dykes.

Lets back up a bit to the beginning of the story shall we? Last summer I visited True with my friend Kevin. I even blogged about it:

True is a new bar/coffee shop/cafe type place in the North Side. I'd been told
it was expensive and yuppie. Which it is, kinda, but in a non pretentious kinda
way and we freaking LOVED it. So nice to hang in a classy bar. All the bars
downtown make ya wonder why your feet are stickin to the floor, if ya know what
I mean. So yeah, a nice, clean, well decorated place is cool. Theres no smoking
inside, which I actually liked. They do have a really cute patio set up in back
for the smokers. Totally a great date place. Yep. Rocked.

So. A few months after the visit, Ethan comes home and says "Hey, did ya hear about True? Apparently they're making lesbians pay a cover and charging them more for drinks. They no likea da lesbians!" I just kinda shrugged and blew it off because rumors fly in the gay community and it could have been a load of crap. But then I was forwarded the email from a lesbian who was forwarded the email from a lesbian who... well, you get the point. Same story from two completely different sources- one lesbian and one from a gay male... well, can't really shrug that off.

I decided to check out True's website, hoping this was a misunderstanding, but didn't find a damn thing. Couldn't even find anything on the site saying its a gay bar, which also irritates me, albeit for different reasons. They do say that "As diverse as its patrons, True offers a wide range of opportunities for enjoyment." which I suppose is accurate, if your definition of diverse is "mostly white middle aged gay men".

Now, back to the email. I know a lot of lesbians, and I've been to a whole lot of gay bars. I have never even once seen a large group of lesbians "ordering nothing, water, soft drinks, or even nursing a single beverage for several hours." Never. Go to Donny's once, then tell me how the dykes don't drink booze. About the tipping- I've heard similar stories about lesbians that don't tip well. I typically tip close to 50% of my bar tab. Assuming, of course, that I get decent service. Some gay male bartenders won't wait on lesbians. I've had to have Ethan or Kevin get my drinks more than once. And I've had to get them drinks some places too. Sucky service isn't restricted to those with a penis by any means. My point is that based on the tone of the email and my experiences in gay clubs, I'd bet that the waitstaff at True isn't nearly as concerned with getting the dyke at the end of the bar a beer as they are with flirting with the cute guy across from them. Which would mean that yeah, lesbians do drink less and don't tip.

Which brings me to my request. True is run by Eric Kukura and Dru Imler. If you know of any other businesses they're involved in, please drop me a line and let me know. I do so hate to go where I'm not wanted. And if you'd like to contact these two shining examples of solidarity and justice, you may do so here. And ask them to just post a "no dykes" sign on the door. Much simpler.

2005-05-16T14:18:00.000-04:00

Um...

I was gonna post about the creation vs "Intelligent" design debacle in Kansas, but eh. If people in Kansas want their kids to grow up not knowing basic scientific principals, more power to them. Natural selection will prevail.

Then I thought I'd post more on the whole pharmacist conscience clause, but decided to save that for a day that I really need to vent. So instead, I decided to post about a topic I know lots about. The L word!

Last night was the season finale. *sigh* Seems like the season just started. Anyhoo, for those of you that didn't get to see season 2, here's what's goin on-

Tina and Bette were broken up all season. Bette flirted with alcoholism and did the one night stand thing. Tina hooked up with Helena Peabody, who happens to be in control of the Peabody Foundation. She's also a freak. And a bit of an exhibitionist. And a heinous bitch from hell. Long story short, Tina had her baby and she and Bette are planning on getting back together. Assuming of course that Tina doesn't bite the big one. Season 3 prediction- Tina dies in the first ep and Bette has to fight to get custody of the baby. And has to find a new job. I further predict that Helena's mother, whats-her-face Peabody will come to Bette's aid somehow. We ain't seen the last o them there Peabodys!

Dana and Tonya broke up. (YAY!) Dana and Alice got together. (BOO!) Over the course of the season, they have progressed from the nauseating cootchy-coo stage of lesbian dating to the "of course you should be friends with your ex" stage. Along the way they explored the wonderful world of the strap on, dabbled in role playing and briefly took an interest in BDSM. (The interest lasted long enough for them to walk into a club, say eek, and walk out.) Season 3 prediction- big, messy breakup. I'm guessing they'll decide they make better friends and try to go back. More power to them. One possibility involves Dana cheating with her ex the soup chef. Bad idea. Bad.

Shane is in love. And we're apparently supposed to be all shocked and awed by the news despite the fact that last season she was all in love with Ms. I'm-Married-But-Fuck-Me-Anyways. Whatever. Also, Shane is pretty friendly with Mark, the new straight guy on the block. Mark planted hidden cameras all over the place and taped the most intimate details of Shane and Jenny's lives, but Shane has basically given him a pass. Have I mentioned that Shane irritates me? Um yeah. Season 3 prediction- Shane and Jenny end up in the sack. Don't know when, don't know how, but eventually, they will do the do.

Jenny went a little crazy this season. Which actually makes her likable in a strange look-at-me-I'm-a-loony kinda way. She has also morphed into an outspoken unapologetic feminist. Her "write 'fuck me' on your chest" tirade to Mark was fantastic. The writing/voice over "I want to give you my sweetbreads" garbage has been done away with thank God. In its place is eerie black and white footage of a carnival, which has turned out to be the scene of some serious sexual abuse Jenny suffered as a child. Hence the going loony. The last ep had Jenny sobbing on the floor of the bathroom, carving lines into her thighs with a razor blade. Season 3 prediction- Other than the Jenny/Shane sapphic love fest, I'm not sure what's in store for this one. But I am looking forward to seeing what happens. Dare I say, Jenny has become my favorite. THERE'S your shock and awe!

Kit had a few developments this season. She bought the Planet (with Ivan's help) and turned it into a kickin club. She's seeing a married (oogie) man. And she found out that Ivan was in a relationship during their whole flirting/courtship/whatever ya wanna call it. Other than that, not a whole lot of time spent on her. Which is a shame, cause Kit rocks. Even if she is straight(ish). Season 3 prediction- drama with the married man.

Other thoughts on the second season-
Who in Betty is fucking whom on the L word? Not only did Betty do the new theme song, which sucks, but at least one member of the band has been in damn near every ep this season. And like it isn't bad enough that we have to hear the sucky theme song at the beginning of the show, we also have to hear 3 dozen variations of it throughout every freakin episode. Knock. It. Off. For the love of all thats holy, hire a better band and get a theme that make me want to puncture my eardrums. And please, please, please, no more blonde Betty having sex of any kind. Also, the phantom voice/music/whatever that you have going on is stupid and irritating. I don't need to hear "Carmen... Carmen... Carmen... Shane... Shane... Shane..." while Carmen and Shane are fucking. I know who they are, I watch the damn show. Plus, some people smoke certain substances while watching the show, and disembodied voices freak em out. Not me of course. Um... a friend. Yeah, a friend. And she says knock it the hell off!

2005-04-26T08:39:00.000-04:00

Crazy like a fox!

I was doing my usual morning blog surf when I came upon this post over at Pam's House Blend. I usually check DailyKos a couple times a week and was pretty surprised to find out that he's advertising for a conservative company. My liberal sensibilities were initially offended, and I checked out Kos' advertising policy and pricing to gather information for the scathing email I was planning. And then I saw the survey results on this page and realized that kos is a fucking genius. Only 0.2% of Dailykos readers identify as republicans. How much business ya think that ad is going to generate? In essence, what we have here is a pro republican business giving cash to a liberal blogger with little hope of any return. Go Kos!